Connections
by 8Number
Summary: Circumstance was what brought these travelers together, but their own formed bonds is what holds them together. Or: My extremly long and self-indulgent take on the story told in Octopath Traveler, complete with lots of adventure, team bonding, world building, and a sprinkle of ridiculously slow-burn romance. (Probably more implied/ambiguous pairings)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 – Orsterra's Master Thief**

 ** _In Orsterra, thirteen total gods are known. Each of them shares certain similarities, and differences, and all of them bear their own unique title. From all the gods, Aeber might be the strangest, as he's the only god where stories of him being benevolent and stories of him being malicious exist. The most common interpretation is, that he simply does not have a moral code, neither for good nor for evil. That would explain why he's known as the patron for bandits, thieves and ruffians as well as travelers and messengers. As a god, the Prince of Thieves resides over Fire. However, not once has a person blessed by Aeber been observed, other than in telltales of glorious prison escapes commonly seen as excuses by inattentive guards.  
\- Euhan Merii, Legends and Myths of Orsterra_**

Borderfall had always been somewhat of a special small town for Therion. He couldn't in good conscience claim that he actually liked the place, Aeber forbid, but if somebody asked him what his favorite place in Orsterra was, he would probably answer Borderfall. It was easy to see why, too. Borderfall had the best of both worlds, as far as he was concerned. The lower levels had the type of dirty, low-level, miserable slum he felt most comfortable in. A place that made for a great hideout, where nobody would ever think of ratting him out. Why would they? They wouldn't be caught dead helping the authorities and they had their own problems to deal with, anyway.

Borderfall was divided into three parts. The lowest level – both in income and physically – were the down here, in the slums. Though Therion had always found it telling that the tavern was located on this level. And practical for the inhabitants, he found. If the people got really desperate, they'd just attack some drunk rich idiot who had come down to get his alcohol fix.

On the upper levels of town, things got even more interesting. The second level had the entrance to town as its most striking feature. That part of town was the most presentable in all of Borderfall, and in a way the most boring. The people that lived there were average, not really wealthy enough to be worth stealing from, but not poor enough to be forced to only live on what you got your two hands on like most in the slums. Some of them even used to live in the slums before, though no matter which one you meet, they'll always turn up their nose in disgust when meeting someone from down below. Hypocritical, but it was how the world worked. Travelers passed through this level, the Inn was located there, and you'd often find merchants lingering in the plaza, trading and trying to get to the nobles one level higher, to sell them their wares. Those merchant were prime targets for thieves with nimble fingers, like him, and his primary source of necessities.

Then there was the part on top of the cliffs. Not many people lived there, but those that did were definitely classified as rich. Some of them were Nobles, he figured, but most of them had just managed to hold a very successful business for generations. Knowing the distinction could be a live saver, especially since nobles tended to be not as rich as well-off families. Just goes to show that not all things are always as they same.

 _Whoever came up with it, certainly wasn't stupid_ , Therion mused while twirling his half-empty glass mead around. A bit of the bitter liquid spilled out, but he didn't really care in the end. _Building the town in three levels. Especially with those small wooden bridges they insist on keeping. The poor giving you any trouble? Just burn it and cut them off. See how they like starving to death, if they don't fall first._

When he looked out of the window of the still-empty tavern, he could just see it. Behind the grime tinting the glass an unappetizing brown color, the cobwebs hanging over the frame and the cracks left in the glass, he could see Ravus Manor standing tall and proud on the top of the cliff. It took him quite a bit of his self-control not to gag at the sight. After yesterday's ordeal, he had stayed awake at the tavern through the entire night, thinking about what he could have, should have done differently.

Just yesterday, he had paid the Manor a visit for the very first time. Truly, he had toyed with the idea for a long time now, but hadn't wanted to actually try anything without knowing if they had anything of value for him to take. When he heard the rumor, he couldn't really help himself anymore. He now had a target and he didn't intent on letting anyone else take it. What type of Master Thief would he be if he let himself be bested?

That should have been his first warning sign. He had been in Borderfall for a long time now. Granted, not usually for a long period of time at once, but it was his base of operations for Aeber's Sake! It was the only town he actually had a hideout in. If Ravus Manor had had these jewels for as long as the rumor claimed, he should have heard it being mentioned at least once or twice before.

If that didn't set of his warning bells, the amount of guards should have really discouraged him. Sure, tricking the guards was easy enough. They hadn't exactly been the brightest bunch, if annoyingly stubborn and insistent. But the guard dogs? Almost impossible to deal with. Not to mention that the doors had been way too heavy to open normally. Instead of picking the lock and letting himself in like he'd usually do, he had to find a cracked window and slip in that way. Really, that was just another warning sign. Why would someone with supposedly priceless jewels not repair a cracked window? Especially one a grown man could easily crawl through. They didn't even have to be as small and agile as him to manage it.

The Barkeep shot him a look from the other side of the room, probably because he had been playing with his glass rather than drinking its contents for a good half-hour now. Or because he was one of the few saps drinking in the early hours of the morning, one of the two. Sadly, Therion didn't care all that much about the lean man's opinion. As the one who spread the rumor, he was just as guilty of putting him in this situation as Lady Ravus herself, as far as he was concerned.

Really, all his current problems could be summed up in three simple words: Heathcote and Cordelia. Heathcote because he was the one who caught him, put him on a metaphorical leash, and send him out into the world again. How did that butler move that secretly anyway? Now Cordelia was an entirely different story. Between the two of them, he believed Heathcote to have been the one to devise their diabolical scheme. Setting up defenses in order to lure in thieves, test them, capture them, and then blackmailing them into helping them out. He seemed to be the scheming one out of the two.

But really, The Lady of the house just rubbed him the wrong way. To be fair, he never really got along with rich people in general. Just wasn't his style. And besides, they usually hated him, too, so it was a mutual agreement. Lady Cordelia however? She insisted on being kind to him, or whatever she perceived as kindness. Acting as if she didn't just trick him, injure his pride as a thief and blackmailed him into doing her dirty work. Damn his stupid pride, stupid obvious trap, stupid Heathcote and stupid Cordelia. What was he, a glorified hunting dog? _Find your damn jewels yourself, Miss._

…is what he'd like to spit at her face, but then, he wouldn't be being blackmailed if he could just back out so easily. But, oh how he wanted to. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to ignore this borderline suicidal mission with no initial benefit to him at all, take his things, get out of here and never set another foot into Borderfall if he could help it.

 _It's decided then._ He chugged down the half-glass mead still in his hand, feeling the pleasant burn of the alcohol in the back of his throat. _Once I'm done with this, I'm moving. Immediately._

But first, he had to take care of that annoying Fool's Bangle. He had it for less than a day, and it was already costing him the last of his sanity. The metal clasp needed to go off as fast as humanly possible, for a plethora of reasons.

First, it was a mark for thieves who have failed. His pride as a thief did not allow him to keep this humiliating proof of his own ineptitude on any longer than necessary. It was a massive blow to his self-esteem, not to mention a signal that would identify him as a thief to anyone with eyes and a passing familiarity with his job. Both authorities and other thieves would know of his profession with just a glance, and he really couldn't tell which one would be worse. Only that anyone realizing it would end up in either him dead or in gaol – and subsequently dead, probably.

Second, it was big, unhandy and loud. The metal bits clunked together if he wasn't incredibly careful about how he moved his arm, and each side was about as thick as his wrist, adding a good chunk of volume to his arm. He just knew it would make him ruin a mission at one point or another, he could already feel it. Not to mention it made slipping his hand into pockets an impossible feat, effectively handicapping him on one side.

The heavy thing also totally threw of his balance. As embarrassing as it was, he nearly lost his footing three times after yesterday's ordeal. He'd need to re-adjust, and quickly. Really, if he died during this mission, he was going to blame it on the dumb thing of metal permanently attached to him.

Therion sighed, got up and left the empty glass on the table, together with some coins. Not that that sleaze of a barkeep deserved actually getting payed, but he had standards. One of them was to always pay when he went into a tavern. Not doing it was just way too obvious. Most of the time, he wasn't paying for the drink anyway, seeing it more as a payment for information he picked up.

Not that he got any out of this particular stay. He came here to get his mind off of his depressing failure, though that endeavor fell flat on its nose. Eh, he tried.

"Hey, haven't ya heard what they say?" He was halfway up already, when he heard someone starting a conversation to the left. A quick glance showed him it was a bandit talking to another one, the two of them not even trying to look like anything else than ruffians. The start was promising however. 'Haven't you heard' was _the_ cue for 'Listen up and you may hear something really useful'. "Anthony? About that Master Thief that's been all the rage lately?"

Ah, he knew what they were talking about. He grinned, not really able to help himself. He had a feeling this would cheer him up a bit. "What yer on 'bout?" The ruffian's drinking buddy – Anthony, his brain supplied – answered his friend's call. "That Malum guy, was it?"

Therion had heard the name 'Malum' more often lately. To be fair, he wasn't entirely sure why, but it sounded distinctly like something a snobbish Atlasdamian would say. Since it always fell whenever people were talking about his heists and exploits, he figured it was something of a codename to refer to him. No one knew his identity after all. He'd be bad at his job if people did.

"What about him?"

"Ah, I jus' heard of another great story 'bout that Thief. Apparently, he stole a pretty sparkly diadem somewhere in the Riverlands." It was a three-day trip of from Borderfall, actually. Needed to go off the path to find it, considering it was quite hidden. He figured there hadn't been a path because the place was largely abandoned. The real question was how people found out he had been there in the first place. "They found it while repairin' the place. Apple seeds where the crown was supposed ta be."

His companion hummed. "Why does he leave apple seeds behind, anyway? Would be a smarter move not to leave anythin', really." Technically yes, but he doesn't do his big heists for money or food. He's got that covered through pickpocketing. Nah, the apple seeds were to prove a point.

 _And I use apples because I like apples and it's the one thing I always have on hand. Duh._

Instead of listening to more rumors about himself, he decided he had enough and finally left the tavern. As soon as he opened the door, he was hit with a blast of cold air. And was that frost he saw coating the rocky ground? He pulled his coat a little closer to himself. It was quite cold still for the beginning of spring.

Maybe, if he hurried, he could make it out of time before meeting with Cordelia. Avoiding the farewell that the girl had insisted on would help him out quite a bit. Not to mention how imagining her face after he hopes had been crushed would certainly lift his spirits.

Okay yeah, he was petty, he'd admit. She did have it coming, though.

Of course, he wasn't quite as lucky. He was this close to passing the gate and getting a move on, when that annoying, all too familiar high-pitch voice registered in his ears. Really, had the Gods forsaken him? The lady was screaming his name from across the street, bringing way too much attention to both of them. She's nobility living in Borderfall of all places, shouldn't she know better?

 _So much for being secretive. Ugh. Let me guess what these newcomers are thinking, 'What's this guy's connection to nobility? Maybe it'd be worth cornering him later…' What a safety hazard._

The person who brought him into this situation didn't even notice of course. Completely unaware that she had just practically put a sign saying 'Worthy pray' on him, she run up to him and skidded to a halt, nearly falling on her face. If her annoyance of a butler hadn't caught her, that is. A wasted opportunity, truly. "I came to see you off, Mister Therion! Make sure to return safe, will you?"

"And don't forget the ruby Dragonstone." Heathcote added, not nearly as enthusiastic as his master was to see him. Somehow, he preferred that. For as annoying Heathcote was, at least he wasn't a blathering fool. "Our intel suggests you'd find it in Noblecourt. I advise you to make haste."

He snorted. "Noblecourt?" Noblecourt was the city of the wealthy and nobility, as the name implies. It was basically Borderfall, but stripping the town off its lower layers and enlarging the top part threefold. Amongst thieves, it was one of the most talked about towns. Tales told about the people being incredibly snobby, even more so than anywhere else, and their prison guards was known far and wide as the best in all of Orsterra. Diligent, rich themselves and a healthy dose of contempt for those disrupting the peace in any way shape or form. "Well, I'll fit right in."

He turned around, not bothering with saying anymore else. He did, however, stick up his arm as a half-assed attempt at waving good-bye.

Of course, he made sure the arm was the one Heathcote had put the Fool's Bangle on, drawing an audible gasp from their accumulated audience. _Heh. Have fun explaining why you are talking to a thief to those suckers, then._

Really, if he had less self-control, he might have cackled at their plight. But alas. he only chuckled a little bit at their expense, while walking briskly away from the commotion. Not his business, after all. In his eyes, the decision he'd have to make right now was much more serious.

He walked slowly, since the path didn't split far after leaving Borderfall, and he still didn't know if he should go north or south. North would be a bit shorter if his goal was to reach Noblecourt, and, as he couldn't stop reminding himself, he really wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible.

On the other hand, he was more familiar with the south route, having actually traveled that part of the continent before. He even knew a few shortcuts to help him there, if it got really tough. Though in the end it really came down to if he'd prefer prevailing in the desert in the south or in the perpetual snow that coated the northern region of Orsterra.

Yeah, who was he kidding, he hated the cold.

Now which route to actually take. He took out an old map from his satchel – it was one he's had for almost eight years now and definitely showed signs of wear and old age, but it the old piece of parchment had served him well so far – to plan out the actual route. He'd definitely have to camp along the way. Also have as many stops in towns as possible, he would need any opportunity he could get to restock. But they shouldn't be too out of the way, he didn't want to get off track too much after all.

Making a stop in Sunshade was pretty much a necessity, considering it being a save spot in the middle of the desert. Same for Rippletide later on, since only the town connected the southern half of the continent with the northern one. But he needed a place a little closer, since he was running low on basic necessities. He hadn't had time to go and restock in a while, after all, so he needed a town in the Riverlands.

 _It's going to be either Clearbrook or Saintsbridge,_ he explained to himself. _Saintsbridge is more out of the way, but it's bigger. Who knows if Clearbrook even has enough to spare… Saintsbridge would. But that means going out of my way…_

How bothersome. In any case, he'd need about three days to reach either, four for Saintsbridge. He'd have ample time to decide later. For now, he was just going to trek south, down the long, winding cliffs, walking on small wooden bridges that swished in the wind and being over deep canyons with steep rocks at the bottom that'd easily impale a soul unlucky enough to fall down…

He gulped. Why did he prefer Bolderfall over any other town again?

* * *

As always when Therion traveled, he swiftly fell into a routine. He had been doing these things for a good number of years now, and he knew the worth of a good, strong habit.

The first hurdle was the precarious bridge suspended over the canyon in front of him. No matter how many times he'd be in this situation, he'd never become used to it. The bridges around and in Borderfall were just that nerve-wracking. The frayed rope didn't particularly spell safety, all things considered, and he was sure that the wood was slowly giving away to old age and would break under someone's weight soon.

And with his terrible luck lately, he wouldn't be all that surprised if he found himself lying on the bottom of this canyon soon. Really, he could practically picture it. That terrible sensation of not having anything under him but the air moving out of his way while he fell faster and faster, the frantic search for anything he could hold onto while desperately clutching the bleeding wound on his face, then the crash and the sickening crunch of bone hitting rock, red bleeding into the clear water, dragging his broken body out and away slowly over a period of days-

Yeah, he should just stop there. Point was, he didn't trust the bridge. For point of reference, he generally didn't trust anyone or anything, but if he'd rank things after his distrust in them, precarious bridges suspended over winding canyons would win the contest, easily.

That however, did not give him an excuse to stand around in front of the bridge and gaping at it like it somehow personally offended him. He needed to get places, and this bridge was the only place to get there, so he had to suck it up and deal with it, like he always did.

The Thief took a deep breath and steeled himself. A quick glance confirmed there was no one around to see what was about to transpire – thank Aeber for small mercies – and set one careful foot on the bridge. The bridge creaked under his weight, making him cringe and nearly retract his foot. Instead, he sat another one next to it and let the bridge carry his entire weight.

 _Gods, I hate this._ He thought while he tightened his hands around the yellowed rope until his knuckles went white.

Bad idea.

Why? Because it meant he was now facing the side of the bridge. Where it went down and down and down and down for miles and there was nothing in-between his position and the ground down below and-

If this continued, he was going to be sick.

He forced his eyes away from the canyon and trained them on the wood beside him. _Nice, unstable ground. Yay._ Slowly, inch by painful inch, he made his way over to the over side. Really, Therion would like to say that it got easier with each step, but then he would be lying.

It got worse. In the _middle_ , the bridge dipped lower to accommodate for his weight, and it made the wood blocks that the rope was tied to bend a little. As soon as he saw that, he nearly panicked, but somehow the bridge actually held. So instead, he moved forward again, albeit just a tiny bit faster this time. If it did give, he wanted to be in jumping distance. Like hell was he going to be pulled into a canyon by a broken bridge.

Eventually, he did make it to the other side. After what felt like hours, granted, but he did. And even better, no traveler had come by and seen him waddling across a stupid bridge like a frightened child. Then, he groaned. _Right… I'll have to cross more of these until I'm out of this place… Why do I do this to myself?_

He threw the bridge a last glare filled with pure and unfiltered hatred for its very existence, and left the scene behind. He had ground to cover, and was already wasting more than enough sunlight.

The name-giving Cliffs the Cliftlands were named after weren't the most interesting scenery to walk across, he had to say. It was red rock after red rock and then some more red rock, really, incredibly boring. A few small flowers and herbs sprouted through some cracks, although he wouldn't know what exactly they were. Maybe he should learn some flower names sometime.

Or not, he couldn't exactly think of any situation were knowing that would ever be useful. Unless he ever decided to pose as someone selling flowers or anything equally ridiculous.

In a way, the general boredom the Cliftlands held was somewhat alleviated by the fact that one could very easily die a pitiful and painful death if on did not pay attention to where they out their feet. Nothing like realizing the crushing inevitability of one's own mortality to keep oneself occupied, he supposed.

That way he wandered, not thinking about much. Eventually, the sun slowly set over the rock, and Therion had to climb down to his resting spot. It was at the end of a short, but steep trail downwards the canyon, ending in a small clearing next to the river.

It was a hidden, well-suited spot to set up camp, and one he often made use of whenever he was leaving or returning to Borderfall. Even if he told himself he was getting through the Cliffs in one day this time, he never managed it, so this place was somewhat of a given stop.

Not in the least because he refused to sleep somewhere up there. Not if he had any say in the matter.

Instead, he traveled down and made himself at home in the clearing. That was when he fell into a familiar routine, one he had followed after years of traveling from town to town. He removed his coat, he'd use it as a makeshift blanket for the Night, although not before he checked the contents of his hidden pockets. He also removed his collection of knives, checking how sharp they still were before returning them to their proper place. Then, he drank some water from the river, as well as filled his flask with it. Together with some stale bread he had been carrying around for a few days and some grapes he'd snatched before leaving, it made a semi-decent meal. Though the bread would only last him for tomorrow.

He really needed to stock up on supplies.

The next two days went much the same. In Therion's opinion, the travel time was a nice break. After what had happened the other day, he really didn't want to deal with another human being anytime soon.

Not that he ever has a choice in the matter.

When the soon stood highest on his third day of travel, he noticed people following him. It couldn't have been too long, since he was pretty sure he would have noticed them long before now if they had tailed him since Borderfall. Hiding on a small pathway through Cliffs was a bit hard, after all.

He noticed, because he could hear feet meeting stone, the noise slightly out of sync with his own. _Concentrate._ Heavy footsteps. Four distinct patterns. _Four people, probably burly ruffians. A small group of bandits, maybe?_

How bothersome. Hidden by his coat, he gripped his trusted dagger, ready to spring to use in a moment's notice. If they insisted on following him, they certainly wouldn't let him slip away without a fight.

Usually, he didn't have many problems with bandits. Sometimes, he was dragged into small squabbles, but he usually made it out of range before anything happened. He didn't exactly give off the naïve, wide-eyed traveler vibe that would lead people to see his as a good target, meaning these people were either desperate, confident they could do him in with their numbers, or wanted to blow his light out specifically.

In any normal circumstance, he wouldn't even consider the last one, but with how his whole Dragonstone quest was set up…

 _I'm blaming Cordelia for this._

At least he had left the cliffs behind, the terrain opening up to a flat plane still riddled with rocks. A much better place to defend himself. And a much better place to actually ambush someone.

The rush of moving air was his only warning.

He whipped around, throwing his arm up. Clank- Metal on metal as a knife hit his own. Just in time. Therion took a step back. The other man lost his balance at the sudden movement and stumbled. He swiped at him, his knife catching on muscle. He ripped it out.

He made a face when the iron smell hit his nose.

The man gripped his arm, giving Therion a small time-window to collect himself. Not counting the man in front of him, there were three bandits, a bit further behind. _Concentrate._ The closest one was now refocusing his efforts on him, a mad glean in his eye. He surveyed the wound, it should have been-

Ah. He missed. He had been going to the artery in the upper arm. Both to inflict a deadly wound without much work. As well as taking the bandit's knife-hand. He ducked, closing the distance between them. He gripped his arm and pulled, thrusting the knife upward. This time, he didn't miss.

He moved to the side, bringing the knife up. The metal snagged on cloth, the new opponent's coat ripping open and falling to the ground. He kicked at him. Jumped away. The coatless one and another were readying glistening knives, poison maybe-

 _Where's the third one?_ He noticed a shadow looming at his left. Raised his arm instinctively. Another clang of metal, his arm shaking with the force of the impact. No pain registered. _Caught on the bangle, huh? Lucky._

He kicked the attacker in retaliation. He didn't even see it coming after his attack failed. He pushed against the bandit's knee until it gave with a sickening crunch. The man yelped in pain. His leg buckled, couldn't support his body anymore and he fell to the ground.

 _Two down, two to go._ One of them was on the ground shouting profanities. The other had lost consciousness by now. The two that were left took a more defensive state. They were done acting rashly, he guessed.

Though he wasn't sure how long he could keep this up. He wasn't used to long, drawn-out fights. His breathing was too fast, his hair sticking to his head, his body shaking, and the bangle felt wrong and heavy on his wrist. He needed to calm down and get this over with, fast.

Therion mustered his best cocky smirk, glaring the two remaining bandits down. Now that he got a better look at them, he noticed all of them donned the same type and color of clothing. _Part of a gang, then? What did I get myself into…_ "heh. Mind telling me who I have the honor of fighting here?" he asked, in hopes of them being more moronic than they looked.

As an answer, the one on the left just drew his dagger higher. And, yes, that was definitely some kind of poison coating. It gave the knife a deadly, purple glint. _Uh oh._

"None 'a yer business, kid." The man grins maniacally. No doubt, he made him mad. Great. "Ya know, I didn't mean ta' make it personal or nothin'. Jus' a mission fer a quick buck, but now…" So they did want him specifically. If he made it out of here alive, he'd need to deal with that. Somehow. "Well, it's pretty obvious what'll happen next, ain't it?"

"Crystal." The look the two were giving him spelled a pretty clear message. It screamed 'Your bounty better be enough to cover the medical bill.'

 _Jokes on him, really. One of those two is going to need a funeral instead._ Therion put on his best disarming smile, lowering his own weapon. "Oh?" he asked, letting surprise tint his words. "Do tell, what did I do to get as lovely people as you on my trail?" He had a feeling this wouldn't be an isolated occurrence. If someone wanted him dead, he'd like to know who and why, at least. There hadn't been enough time for someone targeting him because of his new connection to Ravus Manor, and the only other person that actually knew his face thought he had been dead and buried for years.

The bandit that had remained silent until now answered him. "Some folk goin' on an' on 'bout nobody leavin' Borderfall until they got their hands on some fancy jewelry. Long as they pay, I don't really care about what throat I slit." So it was Cordelia's fault. Couldn't say he didn't think of it. They also apparently did manage to figure out he broke into the mansion. That was... alarming. _I don't ever catch a break, do I? Aeber, I'll need your own legendary luck for this._

Silence settled once more over the three of them. Everybody trying to find the right moment to strike. None of them moved, well aware that the slightest dip in attention could spell disaster.

The bandit on his left fell victim to his own impatience first. He shouted, running towards him. Therion dodged. He rolled to the left, jumping back up. He landed directly in front of the other. A slash he didn't saw coming quickly enough. Pain bloomed from his left hand, his vision blurring.

The thief cursed, yanking his knife out of Therion's hand. Painfully.

He wouldn't be able to best both of them in a knife fight. Not at the same time. He needed to think of something, fast. _Come on, there has to be something I can use! Think, you idiot!_

He jumped away from another attack. Again and again. Trying not to get hit took most of his focus. Thinking of a way out any other. He had tools for every situation. There had to be something he could use to turn this around now. Maybe, if he could…

He ducked, evading another blow. Quickly, he fumbled under his cloak. In one of his many pockets, he kept elemental stones. His other hand grabbed his trusty rope. Before the bandits could react, he threw a light elemental stone on the ground and closed his eyes.

The other two weren't so lucky, being blinded by the overwhelming light. Before they could recover, he bound both their wrists and took their knives from them. _Can't believe that worked… oldest trick in the world, really._

"Alright, you two. You mind telling me who is behind this?" He would get to the bottom of this as quickly as he could.

The bandits stared at him, still a bit dazed but hate for him present in both their stares. He could live with it. The feeling was mutual, after all. As soon as he got his answers, he'd leave them to sort themselves out. "Don't think we're goin' be tellin' ya anythin', little tea leaf" Okay no, they were dead. "Ya can't even pay attention to yer surrounding's, after all."

 _Wait, what's that supposed to-_ He whipped around. He saw was the bandit with the broken kneecap standing before him, face grimacing in pain, and the knife in his hand, that ended embedded in his stomach. He fell onto the stone, unable to move.

The bandits laughed, cutting their restraints loose and leaving. Soon, the pain, light-headedness from the blood loss and delirium from the poison moving into his bloodstream bled together into one giant cocktail of misery. And as the soon started falling again, he could slowly feel himself slip away into unconsciousness.

 _Gods. I really do have rotten luck..._


	2. Chapter 2

p style="text-align: center;"strongChapter 2 - A country bumpkin's pride and joy/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"strongemspan lang="EN-US"Medicine is an interesting field of study. In my biased opinion, it is the very best. Sadly, it hasn't been acknowledged as such until recently – much more, it hadn't even been considered as a field of study. I always found it curious; Isn't the wish to heal and cure one of the most fundamental wishes of humanity as a whole? Now that I've met the Professor, teaching it on a big scale doesn't seem so out of reach anymore. I think part of the problem is the lack of knowledgeable doctors out there. What more, those that do exist contradict each other more often than not, each believing in a different cure for one and the same illness. It's easy to see how such practices can shatter the trust of the patients. In the end, the only way to find a true cure, one that really helps, is to want that cure to work with all your heart, for when it does work you have, if only for a day, defeated /span/em/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strongemspan lang="EN-US"- A diary from a traveling apothecary, name unknown/span/em/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"While Alfyn loved Clearbrook and the people living there with all his heart, he couldn't deny that, from an outsider's perspective, his life must seem pretty boring. He did the same things, in the same order, more or less every single day. Not much ever changed about his routine, and if it did, it usually wasn't for the better. If his routine got broken, it meant a sudden outbreak of illness, or someone being injured./p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Today was no such exception, luckily – the young apothecary woke up with the first morning light, when it crept over his window and shone directly in his face./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"He mumbled to himself, "Shouldn't have placed my bed under the window facin' east", as he did every morning, but it was a half-hearted complaint. He was more of a morning person anyway, and didn't have time to sleep in, even if he had wanted to. So, he got out of bed and was dressed before the sun even fully dipped over the horizon. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Rolling his shoulders, Alfyn went to work. In the morning, that meant taking stock of the medicine. He worked meticulously, cataloguing each type of herb and salve, checking off the amount he saw with what the numbers in his trusty notebook said. The notebook had been a lucky addition he traded off a merchant not too long ago, after he nearly ran out of space in his old one. He had filled quite the amount in the past six years, he must admit. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"He diligently counted the leaves, buds and roots of the recently picked plants, seeing which were still fresh and weeding out unusable one. He checked what he had and what he was running low on. Currently, he was almost out of a particular potent batch of Grape essence, which didn't surprise him. He used it to calm down old Alec's throat on a regular basis, so he was always running low./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"The thought of the old man made Alfyn frown. The old fool was going to die once his lungs finally gave out under the constant abuse of pipe smoke, but he knew Alec. The man was nothing if not stubborn. And had a terrible habit of not listening to doctor's orders. He'd need to restock on that particular medicine then, his current batch wouldn't last him for more than three weeks. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"He still had plenty of Noxroot, dried grapes and pomegranates and powdered olive bloom. Almost out of Addlewort though. He wrote that down, too. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Once he was finished with checking his inventory, the sun had finally risen above the ground and everyone else was starting to get up and begin their day as well. He put his herbal remedies away, double checking if he packed all he needed for today into his satchel, then walked out of the door with quick steps. Outside, the clean air of Clearbrook hit him immediately, bringing the first feeling of spring with it. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Perfect. Making it through winter was always the hardest part of the year. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Soon, the town around Alfyn was bustling with Life. Hunters and lumberjacks went to work in the woods, carrying axes, rods, spears and bows shouting to each other encouragingly and wishing each other a good day. Fishermen went just out of town to catch their families' dinner just upstream. The children ran around town square, while their mothers washed, cooked, cleaned and tended to the gardens. In the corner of his eye, Alfyn also caught sight of Meryl as she moved towards the river with a big laundry basket. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Meryl was the town's chatterbox, always telling tales and spreading rumors. Overall, she was a very nice, headstrong girl living with alone with her grandparents and helping them with chores they couldn't do themselves anymore. When they were younger, they would often play together, Meryl, Mercedes, Zeph and him. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Nowadays, they didn't have much time. Meryl was busy taking care of everything at home, Zeph and him had become absorbed in their apothecary work, and Mercedes moved all the way across to Orsterra, to Atlasdam. emWonder how Mercedes is doing. Maybe we should visit sometime. /emHe chuckled. Time sure flew fast. Who knew what he will be doing a year from now? /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Hey, Meryl!" he shouted to get her attention. When she turned in the direction the shout came from, he waved and smiled at her. She put down her basket, smiled back and waved in return. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Alfyn jogged up to her. "How's it goin'? Your Grandma still fine all 'round?" He asked the girl, whose face fell in exasperation. "I checked up on 'er joints a couple a days back, but if there still givin' 'er trouble…" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Typical. First time I see ya in weeks, first thing ya do is go askin' 'bout other people." She laughed, waving him off as he wanted to defend himself. "Nah, she's fine. Says she's been feelin' better and better since ya gave 'er that concoction of yours. Pray tell, what was that? Seems like a wonder salve to me!" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""It's none of the like!" he was quick to deny. "Jus' some oil-based extract for 'er tired bones to soak in, nothin' more. It's less of a cure and more of a soothing balm, in all honesty."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"She rolled her eyes, elbowing him sharp in the ribs. Ouch. "Always so humble! Give yourself some more credit, for once. Between you an' Zeph, we're the most well-cared for village in all of the land. An' that's in no small part thanks to you, ya hear?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"He really didn't know what to say to that. "Shucks.", he mumbled, feeling his face growing hot. "Well, if ya say so!" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"The girl then sighed, looking from her own house to the river. She seemed to fight with her own thoughts for a minute, before speaking up. "Hey, Alf? Think yer can help out an ol' friend in some trouble for a bit?" He nodded, and she pulled out a letter. "I found this thing washed up in the river the other day. It's strange too; Addressed to me. The sender claims ta be my own mother, but that's impossible, right?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""You want me to go check with yer grandma, since she may tell me easier than you what that's all about, right?" She nodded./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"He patted her on the shoulder. "I'll bring it up, promise." She smiled gratefully at him. "Well, I'll need to get goin'. Apothecary work doesn't do itself, either ya know? And tell that gramps a yours to lay of the pipe for once!" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"He left with these words. At a little distance, he could hear a faint shout of "'Cause that shrimply ol' fool's ever gonna listen to one a' us youngsters!", and he laughed silently at her exasperated tone. Not that he didn't understand the frustration – Alec was a handful. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"On his way, he greeted some more towns people – Always exchanging a pleasant hello and some small talk. At the town square, the little kids were playing tag around him for a while, and he didn't want to spoil their fun, so he joined in. Nina gave him a beautiful flower as a thanks afterward./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Unbeknownst to her, it was a type of bloom with strong hallucinogenic properties; He just hoped the kids weren't eating those flowers. Maybe they should start having a little botany lesson, before someone poisoned themselves. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Soon, but not as soon as originally planned, Alfyn arrived at his destination: The tavern. Inside, Gram was already waiting for him. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Gram was, as most men who grew up in the countryside, quite the burly man. It did him good too – Alfyn couldn't count how many times he had broken up a fistfight inside the tavern. Soon, people realized they shouldn't get quite as rowdy as they did with the old bartender. Gram was not a man anyone with sense wanted to cross/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Hey, bud! You wouldn't happen to have some strong stuff left, eh?" Even so, Alfyn never had had much sense anyway./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Gram just rose an eyebrow, a look he perfected over the years. It was somewhere between 'amused' and 'completely done with your shit'. It suited him well. "Tryin' to get wasted this early in the mornin', Alf?" he chided good-naturedly. "Really, I expected better from the town doctor."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Ha ha. Very funny. Ya know as well as I do that I need that alcohol for work." He replied, mock-offended. "Can't make a tincture without the high percentage stuff." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Sure, it's for 'work'." Gram actually bothered to visualize the quotation marks with his hands. Sometimes, Alfyn couldn't believe this guy. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Actually, scratch that. In the bartender's situation, he would do the exact same./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"In any case, Gram turned around and pulled a bottle of the shelf, tossing it to Alfyn. "100 proof vodka, here ya go. And what ya do with the left-overs…" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Is nobody's business, got it." Truth be told, he did quite enjoy a kicking back with a nice mug of Ale, but the stuff he used for his medicine wasn't quite his preferred taste. "An' don't worry, I know better than to get drunk while workin." He laughed, turning the flask around and checking the etiquette. "Good quality as always. Wouldn't have expected anything less. How much?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"The barkeep made a kind of 'whatever'-motion. "I'd feel bad about depleting your none-existent stash a' leaves. Jus' keep doin' what you're doin', and we'll call it even."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Thanks, I appreciate it." Truly, there was a reason Zeph constantly chided him for giving so many discounts to patients. If it weren't for him basically mooching off of Zeph and the town's residents generally being so nice and giving him freebies, he'd probably already have starved to death. Not that it'd make him change his way any. "I'll be stoppin' by in the evening, then. Keep a seat open for me, will ya?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Gram replied with a court nod, signaling the end of that particular conversation. Oh well, Alfyn had work to do, anyway. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Usually, this was the time he'd check on his regular patients, but old Alec was the only one currently sick, and he didn't have an appointment until three days later. He just hoped Alec would actually send for him if his condition worsened… /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Instead, he went home, planning on preparing his essence. Once he was inside again, he took out a jar and filled it with his newly-acquired vodka about half, the rest with water. emWash the grapes and remove any stems still attached to them, put them in, seal the jar air-tight and shake a bit, and that should be it. /emHe then took it and set it on the windowsill, next to the other extracts currently in the works, not without some difficult maneuvers in stacking though. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"All of the bottles' contents were in different states of the process, some of the liquids already rich in green and brown colors while others still only had a tint. The containers came in all shapes and sizes, a by-product of him using just any glass-shaped thing with a lid he could get his grabby hands on. Though it also made them easier to stack, so he didn't mind all that much. The best part about him making them in his own home however, was the nice fresh smell of herbs filling his house. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Sure, it wasn't everyone's style. There was a reason Zeph had a designated room for his work. He claimed the smell made him dizzy. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Alfyn checked the dates. Turns out a sleepweed infusion he was working on was finally done, after many weeks of waiting. He took it off the shelf and next to the stove. First, separating the fluid from the left-over plant pieces. He put the plants to the side, then heated some beeswax on the stove. Once it was melted, he added the oil and mixed everything together. Once that's done, he poured the mix into yet more jars and put them away in the more shadowed area of the room; The place where he stored his dried and fresh herbs. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"emspan lang="EN-US"What else can I finish up today…? /span/emspan lang="EN-US"He didn't have to wonder long, because his search got interrupted by a knock on the door. "Yeah? Come in!" Gods, Alfyn hoped it wasn't an emergency – maybe Baile was attacked while out fishing again, that man had no idea how much he aggravated the wild life just with his presence. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"To be fair to the wildlife, Baile was quite annoying for humans, too. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"When it was Zeph and not any of the other towns folk that stuck their head in, Alfyn felt an immense relief. If it was Zeph, everything was probably fine. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Zeph had been his best friend for ages, as long as they had lived, basically. He was the son of the town's former apothecary – A man both of them had studied under together for years and it only served to bring them even closer. Nowadays, they talked about everything under the sun: the townsfolk, their job, Zeph's little sister Nina, whatever they could think of. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""I had a feeling I'd find ya here." Zeph said, letting himself in. "It's already past lunchtime. Have you even noticed?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Alfyn quickly brought his hand up to his neck, sheepishly replying, "No, I don't think I did. Something the matter?" He could feel his stomach setting heavily. He just knew where this was going… /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"As expected, Zeph leveled his best glare at him, sighing like the disappointed mother-hen they both knew he was. "Have you even eaten anything today?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"When there was no answer, Zeph simply tossed a loaf of bread his way. "Didn't think so. Ya better take care of yourself, you hear me? A Town's useless if its apothecary is out of commission."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Good thing Clearbrook's got two of those, then." He chirped in, wolfing down the bread in front of him. He hadn't even noticed how hungry he actually was. "Thanks, man." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Don't thank me yet, I want payment." Why was he not surprised? If he wasn't an apothecary, Zeph would have made a pretty good merchant. "I'm all out of Addlewort. Ya got any leftovers for me?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Cuttin' right to the chase, eh?" Alfyn sadly shook his head. "Sorry, I'm out, too. I was gonna head west this afternoon and go pick some fresh ones. They should be already in season, after all. I'll bring some extra for you, too."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks. I really do appreciate it." Zeph smiled. Alfyn knew Zeph didn't like going out and picking new ingredients if it could be helped. It would mean leaving Nina alone for at least half a day, after all. "When are you of." /span/p  
div style="mso-element: para-border-div; border: none; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm;"  
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 58.45pt; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0cm; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm;"span lang="EN-US"Alfyn meanwhile had just finished stashing away his small pot and the empty jars again. "Right about now, I reckon. Anything else I should get?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 58.45pt; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0cm; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm;"span lang="EN-US" /span/p  
/div  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Addlewort was a peculiar herb, mainly because it only grew in places with little earth to place its roots in. In other words, it needed a terrain that was rocky more than anything else. It grabbed tightly at the earth, wedeling itself through the harsher rocks of the Canyon's or breaking through them entirely. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Not for the first time, Alfyn was happy about how close Clearbrook was to the Cliftlands. It only took him about an hour and a half to trek to the mountainous terrain. That way, they could easily find plants growing only in the Cliftlands. For almost anything else plant-related, the Riverlands had the perfect conditions, and for everything that didn't grow in either region, well. That they'd just have to buy from merchants. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"As for Addlewort specifically, he knew of a particularly nice thriving batch just around here, somewhere. It shouldn't take too long to find. He just hoped they had already grown big enough to be plucked, otherwise they'd have to make without, somehow. emAh, there it is. /em/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"The patch was more of a hard, thorny mess of stems than a flower bed, but that had never deterred Alfyn. With a little patience, he pulled the herbs out, careful not to take more than the patch could handle or damage the plants he plucked. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"When he deemed the amount collected sufficient enough, he went to leave. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"And then stopped. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Wasn't this…?/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"He stopped and dropped to the ground again, examining the trail left there. It was definitely blood, now that he looked at it properly. Meaning either this had been a wounded animal or someone had dragged of an injured along this path. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"If it was the latter, they surely could use the help of, say, one apothecary that they just chanced upon a blood trail and went to investigate to patch them up again. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"A decision made, the followed the trail further into the Cliftlands, always keeping an eye on the trail. Or, he was, until it just… stopped. What. Alfyn blinked, and then, when the realized his mistake, muttered a curse under his breath. He had followed the trail alright, but in the wrong direction. This was where the injured person had been dragged away from. emGood job, Alfyn. What's next? Failing to properly assess an injury? /em/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Still angry with himself, he looked up from the trail and actually took in his surroundings. emShould have done that from the start. /emThe trail had let him into a sort of clearing. One side was somewhat open, while on the over the perilously steep cliffs leading to Borderfall started, but all sides were surrounded by large boulders. On one side, there lied some cut rope on the ground. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Then he realized: A person was leaning on one of the boulders. He was cloaked in all purple and had snow-white hair falling over his face. What more, he wasn't moving. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Alfyn rushed over and kneeled next to him, then checked his pulse. emStill breathing. /emAlthough the man was pale and sweaty, and his breath was shallow. There was no way this was only due to a stab wound. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Speaking of, the knife was embedded in the lower left side of the stomach. Which, all things considered, was lucky for his patient. Sure, like this there could still be organ damage, but punctured intestines are definitely preferable to a punctured liver. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Of course, maybe the knife wasn't even long enough to reach. Now, first he needed to remove the knife. After some awkward shuffling to get his patient's mantle out of the way, he could actually reach it. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"It didn't look too big from the outside, but one could never be too sure. emBesides, worst case scenario unless proven otherwise, right? /em/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Okay. You probably can't hear me, but I'm gonna take out that knife you got in there, alright?", he asked, more out of habit than anything else. He took out some clean cloth and water from his satchel, then turned to the knife. In one swift motion, he pulled it out, then immediately pressed the cloth to the wound. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Now, inspecting the knife. It wasn't long, thankfully, only about two inches long. There was some good news and some bad news in that – The good news was that his patient wouldn't have to worry about any punctured organs. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"The bad news was the discoloration on the knife. Combined with the symptoms he saw, the breathlessness, sweating and paleness, it seemed fairly obvious that the knife had been coated in poison. The blade was probably only so short because it didn't need to be long to be lethal. One stab would be more than enough./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" He'd just have to drag his patient home with him and make him an antidote there, then. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"For now, the wound. "I'm going to clean this off with water first, okay?" He removed what little blood was out there. There was also some dirt on it and even a few rocks inside the wounds he had to pick out carefully. If he had to guess, the wound probably had contact with the ground before his patient had managed to bring himself into a sitting position. The man in question groaned while Alfyn worked on the wound. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Don't worry, everything's fine." He assured the still, unconscious man, praying to Dohter he wouldn't wake up. Something in his gut told him that wouldn't go over well. "I'm going to clean it off with a tincture of mine. It's gonna disinfect the wound." Because the last thing they both needed was for his patient to get an infection on top of everything else. "Okay. It'll sting a bit, so be warned." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"He decided it was a good sign when his patient hissed in response to the applied substance. "Okay. I'll tie a bandage 'round that for now, then I'm takin' ya back into town. You can lay on a proper bed then, I can get that wound dressed properly, and then we'll see for an antidote to that poison, yeah? 'til then, this'll have ta' be enough…" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Alfyn gathered the man's belongings together, including the cut rope on the off-chance that actually was the snow-haired man's possession, and put them away with his own. Then, carefully as to not aggravate the wound, he picked up the surprisingly light-weight stranger up. From the looks of it, he must have been about the same age as Alfyn, although he was quite a bit shorter – maybe a few years younger then. In any case, he counted both, the minimal weight and the shortness, as lucky for now, since it made carrying his patient a bit easier. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"The weight did trouble him a bit, however. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"The entire way back, he was torn on the implications of what he had seen. There clearly had been some kind of fight back there, and he wondered why. Also, since the blood trail didn't lead to him, the stranger must have managed to deadly wound his attacker. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"The missing body meant that he had fought against at least two people, more likely three. Most of the time you needed two people to carry an injured away, current situation notwithstanding. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Sure, he didn't regret saving the man's life. If there was any regret, it would be that he couldn't treat all injured parties involved. He saw people injured, he helped them. That much wasn't complicated. But, being nice didn't mean he had to be stupid. For as small and harmless as he seemed at first glance, his patient was clearly a dangerous man capable of inflicting deadly wounds. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"He would have to take some safety precautions while treating him, he decided. To make sure everyone else in town was safe too. Although he really didn't want to start off this relationship with distrust… /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"But some things just had to be done./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"In the end, he created quite a scene as soon as he walked into town with an unconscious stranger in his arms. The sun was now slowly setting, and people were returning home. Or they would be if they weren't busy staring at him and his new charge. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Alfyn?" Meryl was the first to speak. "What happened? Who's he?" he asked, nodding towards the stranger. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Alfyn sighed. "I dunno. I stumbled over the aftermath of some fight. He was bleedin', and he's poisoned. So…" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Don' worry youngli-" The voice came from a window above him and cut himself off with a cough before he finished the sentence. "Explain yerself once yer done with treatin' the kid." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Thanks, Alec. Okay people, you heard the guy! I got work to do." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Even as everyone retreated, not all of them were as accepting of this situation. Clearbrook was a small town and not the friendliest towards strangers; But half-dead strangers who could potentially be trouble? Even worse. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Alfyn just tried to not let the warry, suspicious glances weigh on his mind and lay the man on his bed inside the house. It made him really notice their height difference. He himself just barely fit into his bed frame, while the stranger fit in comfortable with room to spare. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Now, with the proper equipment, he could actually bandage the wound. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""First, that tunic needs to go." That, was a bit of gymnastics on his part, but nothing that wasn't manageable. What he saw made him suck in a shocked breath. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"The stranger's frame was wiry and toned, but clearly underweight. emWell, that explains the light weight. /emAnd to top it off, it was littered with pale, old scars. Some of them were especially horrible to look at – the big ones that would have needed stitching when they were still fresh but never got any proper treatment. With the sheer amount, Alfyn wondered how he could even emmove. /em/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"emspan lang="EN-US"It must be incredibly painful, right? /span/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"It was the type of scars that would give anyone nightmares. Some showed that once, the wound had been infected, which must have made them even worse. Somehow, he was glad to not have seen it at its worst. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"It was also weirdly fascinating what types of scars there were. stabs made up the largest percentage of the worst wounds, but there were also a bunch of smaller cuts concentrated in one area, as if his patient had been dragged over a bed of sharp rocks, once. He wondered what could have led to that particular event. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Then there was the most curious thing. A large metal clasp was wrapped around the stranger's left wrist, which seemed to be fastened too tight and rub at the skin. He tried removing it, but it wouldn't budge at all. He wondered what the unflattering piece of jewelry was about – it seemed like something they'd give to prisoners. Maybe he was a criminal escapee? emDamnit Alfyn, focus. Treat first, ask questions later. /em/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"As decided, he dressed the wound. Then, he started cooking on the antidote. Meanwhile, he also removed a frankly ridiculous amount of weaponry hidden everywhere you could hide weapons, as well as a few other items. Most of them were in hidden pockets inside the coat he already removed, in the satchel or had a place somewhere close there, but he also found a small throwing knife inside the stranger's shoe, for example. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"There were daggers and knifes of all shapes and sizes, nine in total, a small sharpening stone for said knifes, a short-sword, Flintstone for creating fires, two small round ceramic orbs which's purpose eluded him, a whole array of what seemed like lockpicks, a couple small flasks with insultingly amateurish potions and poisons, multiple elemental stones (mainly light, ice and wind), a bunch of slate pencils, some sharpened metal rods that he couldn't make heads or tails of and some pieces of cloth that were already falling apart at the seams with age. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Just what kind of person had he saved here? /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"While he worked, his patient was getting more reckless, his fever climbing. He really needed to hurry up with the antidote./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"At around midnight, he finally finished the concoction and prepared to give it to his patient. He set the sleeping man up, brushing the emsurprisingly soft /emwhite hair falling over his face out of the way./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"He nearly dropped the bowl with the antidote. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"The hair hid a particularly nasty scar trailing from the forehead to the cheek across the entire half of his patient's face. It looked… Dohter, it looked bad. Same as the others, it definitely never got treated, and with how it went over his left eye like that… It seemed unlikely it was still functional, if the eye was even still there. On top of that, it was a slash wound, meaning someone else did this to him. The situation must have been gruesome, it had to be emsomething he probably hid behind his hair on purpose, and something I definitely shouldn't have seen without even havin' talked to him once! /emHe chided himself, deciding to not mention his knowledge of the scar to his patient later on. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Now, we'll just have ya drinkin' this, and then I'll leave ya alone already. Promise." /span/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p 


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 - Welcome to Clearbrook**

 _The streets were cold. They always had been. It was a chilly autumn night, and only one lantern still worked in this run-down place. Even this one flickered on and off in short intervals, wanting to give out._

 _Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knows he's dreaming. The World doesn't feel right. He's small and fragile, slower than he's supposed to be. He was freezing, his warm cloak nowhere in sight. Nothing he could wrap himself up in, if just so he could escape the cold for a minute. And he was tired, so tired._

 _That hadn't changed. He's still tired._

 _The scene shifts and he's somewhere else. A little taller, a little more daring. It's not much, but he has things now. He's practiced. Experienced. He can do things now, bigger and better things than before. When before it had been a struggle, simply surviving didn't seem so out of the question anymore._

 _He didn't dare hope._

 _Now he's somewhere else again, still a kid, but with the air of an adult around him._

 _It's too early._

 _He's underground, surrounded by walls upon walls upon walls. Walls can't hold him. People can't, either. And when he sees that man, stretching out his hand, he knows he isn't alone anymore. Together, they can take on the world._

 _Now, taking that hand, seeing that same ruby red hair, just twists his stomach, makes him sick. He shouldn't have taken that hand._

 _"_ _Therion, Partner. Let me see them, yea? …heh. They fit you. Rarer than the finest jewels, just like the top-notch tea leaf they belong to."_

Therion startled awake, the voice in his dream still playing on repeat in his head. In those first few moments, he had this terrible feeling of displacement. He didn't know where he was, he didn't know what had happened last, he didn't know who or when or why-

He took in a shaky breath. It was _fine_ , this happened all the time. So when he checked his surroundings, what he saw was quite unexpected. First, he was in a bed. _That's… rare._ The room it stood in was similar in that way, it was warm and bright, and the sun shone in, blinding him and showing of the impressive number of plants and jars. It smelled good, too; Like wax and honey and dried leaves. It was oddly… home-y, for lack of a better word.

The second thing he noticed was that he had no idea where any of his stuff was. It was almost enough to send him into a second panic – he had spent long nights figuring out his inventory and then getting everything he needed. He couldn't just replace all of it so easily.

The third thing, and that was the one he probably should have payed attention to first, was that he was alive and breathing. In and of itself, not that shocking. While it hadn't been going all that smoothly lately, he'd always had the devil's own luck when it came to surviving. He did, however, expect something along the lines of waking up half-dead after the poison had been fought off. That's what usually happened, anyway.

Not one to be ungrateful, he send a small thanks up to Aeber. Some naïve soul had actually brought him to a healer - or so he assumed by the amount of plants and his bandages – then who was he to complain? Anything that quickened his recovery was a good thing in his book.

If said tool expected him to pay for this, though, well. It's not like he asked for treatment. Now, where were his weapons?

"Oh!" The door creaked open, letting in a tall, broad-shouldered man, who smiled at him as soon as he realized Therion was awake. "You're awake! That's good, it's been about a week already. I got a remedy for the poison rather quick, but the fever took a while to come down again! You're feelin' any better now?"

Instead of an answer, Therion just stared at the newcomer. Maybe he wasn't actually awake right now. This guy looked way too chipper to see him awake, not to mention that he looked as if he could lift him of the ground, no trouble (and wasn't that a disturbing thought?). This was the guy who had, apparently, patched him up?

"You shouldn't be up and active jus' yet, if ya don't feel like it, you know! Take it easy, 's been a while. And while we're at it, I should probably introduce myself, yea? Well. 'm Alfyn. I found ya six days ago collapsed on a rock somewhere. Yer were pretty roughed up, so I took you back to my place, and here we are now. Hope you don't mind too much!"

"Gods, do you always talk this much?" He couldn't help but interrupt. "I picked up on that already."

The doormat even had the gall to laugh at that, long and loud and good-naturedly, as if he had just said something incredibly funny and not been seriously annoyed at him. It was all rather off-putting. "Maybe, but I doubt you'd have realized my name on your own. And now that that's outta the way, what's your name, Mr…?" He trailed off, clearly waiting for Therion to fill in the blank.

"None of your business, is what it is."

"Rude."

"So I've been told." He rolled his eyes. Truly, there was no reason not to give his name. Or even a fake one for that matter. It's not like some backwater country bumpkin was going to be able to do anything with the information. "Therion. And cut that mister crap."

The apothecary laughed. Again. "Not one for formalities, huh?"

"More that it makes you sound like a particularly annoying person I know. And the less you remind me of her, the more civil this thing is going to be." It was true, they were a bit alike, Lady Cordelia and this guy. They both were way to cheerful for his liking, for one. "So, where's my stuff?"

The man quirked an eyebrow at him. "The knifes?"

"You went through my shit." It wasn't a question; If one took someone's belongings, especially if there were weapons amongst the pile, you inspected everything. He'd worry for the common sense of someone who let strangers into their house without that much precautionary measures. "You know it's more than knifes."

The doormat hung his head, looking desperate. "You'll have ta' make me help me make sense of all that stuff", he whined. "What do you even do for a livin'?"

In lieu of an answer, he just raised his arm, showing off the metal clasp attached to it. "I'm sure you saw it already. Shouldn't you know?" That was the point of the fool's bangle, after all. To let everyone know just what exactly he was. _And let everyone see that he couldn't even do that right._

"course I noticed that thing." Medicine Man – oh he liked that one, maybe he'll keep it – frowned. "A real annoyance it was, too! It's way too tight, for one, and that's not good for your hand at all. Never mind that usually, I'd take it off during treatment, but it wouldn't budge."

Something with his hand? That didn't sound alarming at all. "My hand? Come on, I still kind of need that hand. Fully functional, preferably." A thief was nothing without his hands, after all. They were the greatest tool he had. There was a reason punishment for thievery usually involved broken fingers. Without them, he was royally screwed.

Medicine Man smiled, in what he was sure was supposed to be a reassuring manner. "Ah, don't worry, it should be fine as long as you get it off sometime this year." One more reason for him to hurry up, then. "Now, what does it have to do with what yer do for a livin'? Come on, tell me!"

Yeah, if people didn't know and were too stupid to figure it out for themselves, he sure as hell wouldn't be the one spitting it out. "Nope, not telling."

Alfyn grinned, undeterred. Therion didn't particularly care for the look on him. It practically screamed trouble. "How about this? You tell me about the bracelet, and I won't charge for stitchin' you up at all, hm?" Damn.

"Well played, Medicine Man. Even I can't argue with that." Therion chuckled at the indignant squeak of 'Medicine Man'. Heh, that never got old. "For your information, that inconvenient hunk of metal is called a Fool's Bangle."

"Oh!" Alfyn exclaimed, slamming a fist into his open palm in realization. "I know what that is! It's what they use to… mark… criminals….?" He trailed of, his face clearly showing his way of actually processing the information.

Therion sighed. Well, now that it's come to this, I might as well go through with this. "Thieves, actually. Thieves that got caught, specifically. It's a bit of an unusual and cruel punishment, really."

"But wouldn't it be a million times better if they just threw ya into prison? Ehm, not that I'd wish that for you, of course!"

"You really know nothing about the outside world, do you?" Being thrown into prison was a joke. Sure, the guards were terrible to the prisoners and if the unsavory types in there didn't like someone that person's life expectancy would be dwindling fast, but it really was amazing what a little stay in a prison could do. Information, meeting some other like-minded criminals, free shelter and food… Not to mention that they were pretty darn easy to break out of.

Then again, he only had ever been in one prison, after all. Maybe he just ended up with the incompetent ones. "A fool's bangle is the worst thing that could ever happen to a thief.", he continued. "It's noisy, restricts movement and acts as an identifier. Have one of those, and a mediocre thief's career is over."

"So, forcin' them to do somethin' else for a livin'? Sounds pretty smart if ya ask me."

"A thief's a thief. Only a fool would think that would stop us."

Medicine Man leapt into silence after that. Therion had to keep himself from fidgeting – It was weird, having a person so close and stare at him like that. Immensely uncomfortable. "But wouldn't it be dangerous? Continuin' on with thievin' like that. I mean, if it'd end up gettin' you caught more easily."

Therion snorted. "I said mediocre. I'm not average like that."

"Wow, what a humble person my patient is."

"What, I'm only the best damn tea Leaf in all of Orsterra, thank you very much."

Alfyn rolled his eyes, and turned around. "Well, I'll make you take your medicine, then. And don't even think of refusing'" He cut Therion's incoming complaint off, waving a finger in front of his face. "It ain't poisonous and you're not quite over your fever yet."

Therion resigned himself to his fate. If Alfyn wanted to kill him, he would have done it by now, after all… "Fine."

"Oh, and, Therion?" Alfyn turned around, medicine in hand. "I wouldn't have accepted any payment anyway. But still, thanks for tellin' me."

About three days of mandatory bed rest later – he was seriously considering ignoring doctor's orders if this continued on for much longer – Therion was feeling a bit antsy. Nervous, even. All he really wanted was to get out, go on and continue onward on his journey. He never had been a terribly patient person, he'd admit.

And, as ridiculous as it sounded, this place was starting to grow on him. Alfyn's House was little and quaint and comfortable. It was never silent, either. Often, people would come in to ask Alfyn for help or for prescribed medicine. They usually greeted him too, and were in general quite nice and sympathetic. That was definitely not something he was used to: People being polite to him.

He was also loath to admit that he liked the surroundings, too. Lush forests, curious woodland creatures and clear water were all staples of the Riverlands. He hadn't noticed how much he had missed the general Area.

Therion himself had grown up in the Riverlands way back in the day. Not that anyone would guess this fact now. He did assimilate quite nicely into the traveling lifestyle once he finally left. And as soon as he got to the Cliftlands, he immediately loved the place, so. Back then, the whole empty and lifeless atmosphere and despondent disposition of the people living there felt appropriate.

…He really had been an overdramatic teen, hadn't he?

His musing was interrupted by loud knocking on the door. He'd figure the person was most likely to be Alfyn returning from his rounds, but then again he lived here and wouldn't knock. Instead of Alfyn, the person that left himself in looked a lot softer in comparison. Less of the rough country boy and lumberjack combination that Medicine Man had going on. With this one, the apothecary garb he wore actually seemed appropriate.

Behind him, a small age about the age of five trailed in, looking much happier to be here than the Apothecary. She was bouncing and twirling around without a care in the world, forcing a small smile on Therion's face.

He hid that smile in his scarf immediately, of course. He had an image to protect.

The room was silent for a while, the apothecary obviously not knowing where to start and Therion being quite content with letting him stew in his own thoughts. Though he would like for the other to open his mouth sometime this month, so they could get whatever this was going to be out of the way. In the end, the person breaking the silence was neither of them, but instead the little girl pulled all attention towards her when she jumped on Therion's lap.

He nearly yelped in surprise, but years of being a thief had taught him how to keep his composure. Although he certainly did _not_ see this coming.

The girl then extended her stubby little fingers (No, it's _not cute_ ) and had the gall to gently pat down the hair falling over his face. The nerve of some people, really. "It's really fluffy!" She exclaimed happily, sending her older companion into a near frenzy.

"N-nina! Don't get so close to him!" He said, panic seeping into his voice and watching Therion warily. Oh.

Therion shrugged. "I'm not going to pull anything with her, if you were concerned about that." He said in an even tone. "So, you're Zeph, right?" He only knew the name through Alfyn, of course. In fact, he knew more of the personal lives of all the residents of Clearbrook than he did of his own parents. The guy was a ridiculous chatterbox and he more than once cursed his trained impulse to retain any information he came across.

In any case, Zeph was Alfyn's childhood friend and colleague. His father had been the town's apothecary in their youth, and both of them had pursued the trade under his guidance. Alfyn joining had been more surprising than Zeph, however, since Zeph becoming an apothecary was more or less a given. Both of them didn't have parents anymore, all four of them having died at different stages. Some other random information included that Zeph was a total bookworm, liked mint tea, had the bad habit of constantly misplacing everything, and lived together with his little sister, Nina.

Who had to be the little rascal currently trying to braid his bangs. Which meant she would have to sweep the strands aside. Which would lead to showing off his blind eye.

Before that could come to pass, he gently pried her tiny hands off his face. "How about this? You don't do that." The child, as children are prone to do, just made a pouty face at him. He drew in a long breath. This was exactly why he didn't like dealing with kids. "My hair's too short for properly braiding it, anyway." What to do, what to do…? He rummaged through his pockets. Small snacks, a few stray leaves, and… yup, he did still have it.

The item in question was a sack with five different colored marbles, the type that are see-through and had little swirls in them. He had originally lifted the sack off of some poor unfortunate soul in the hopes of gaining a bunch of extra leaves off of the promisingly full-looking bag. Turns out, it was filled with just a few marbles instead. Usually, he would have just sold them and turned a profit like that, but they were quite pretty and he was weak, so he had kept them. Just to have something nice to look and something small to occupy his nimble fingers with when he was bored.

"Here. Those are bound to be much more fun, right?" He said, removing the marbles from the sack and putting them into her open hands, then throwing the bag over it. Nina's entire face lit up, and she looked from the marbles in her hand, to his face, back to the marbles, to her brother (who was chuckling at the scene), back to the marbles and then to him again.

"For me?" She asked carefully. Therion nodded. "Thank you sooo much, Mister! They're super-duper pretty!" She exclaimed, jumping up and down on his lap. Ouch, his poor battered body. Then she got up, telling Zeph she was going to show her friends the 'coolest gift under the sun' that she got from 'the nice one-eyed stranger with the fluffy bunny hair'.

Aeber, he really was making the completely wrong impression here, wasn't he? He was supposed to be unapproachable, ideally even feared. Just a bit. He was definitely not supposed to be compared to a bunny of all things by a young girl. For the gods' sake.

Nina's footsteps slowly grew smaller, until they both couldn't hear the telltale tapping anymore. Zeph looked after her retreating form, chuckling. "That was awfully nice." He commented, which made Therion scowl. _Yeah, completely wrong impression._ "Guess I was nervous for nothing. Sorry. I suppose I shouldn't have judged you solely on the basis of you, well, doing what you're doing."

Therion have a non-committal shrug. "I'd be more worried if you hadn't been nervous about bringing a five-year old to see a thief. Quite frankly, that would make you an idiot."

"Eight-year old, actually. And Alfyn was right – You really don't pull any punches."

"It's true after all. Most people in my profession wouldn't have hesitated to kidnap the girl and hold her for ransom, or something along those lines."

Zeph frowned. "You still didn't have to give her any of your belongings as a present. What was that for, anyway?"

"Hm. I suppose, when I was her age, I would have loved for someone to give me a bag of marbles. They're quite a lot of fun, don't you think?"

Zeph laughed, seemingly all awkwardness having been forgotten. As everyone seemed to be so intent on doing here, Zeph started talking to him as if they had been life-long friends. This town was really weird like that – Almost as if there was something in the air that made everyone friendly and relaxed and want to get along with everyone around.

Yeah, what other reason could there be.

"Are you ever gonna tell me what these are for?" Alfyn asked him, curiosity tinting his voice. The two of them were finally getting around to sorting through Therion's weapons (Alfyn had always brushed him off with a 'You should still be restin'! Don't worry about it, you'll get all of 'em back soon.') and now that he'd had finally be deemed well enough, Therion saw that his whole inventory was in total disarray. Typical.

Therion shrugged. He didn't look up, busy with sharpening his favorite knife. Simple steel blade, simple black handle, a trustworthy blade about as long as his hand. Just how he liked it. "They're knives, what do you think? They cut things, and sometimes they stab things." Once he was Satisfied with the knives sharpness, he gathered the rest as well as his lockpicks and put them away.

Alfyn made a show of rolling his eyes in response to that. "That's not what I meant and you know it." He held up the largest piece of the rope up to him. "I mean, what do you need a rope for?"

"Never leave the house without a rope. Do you know how much stuff you can do with a rope? You can use it to hang down from places, make it easier to carry heavy things, bind annoying people with it…" He trailed off. Really, wasn't the usefulness of a rope obvious. "Not to mention you can use it to reinforce stuff if you really need it." He sighed. "I'll need to replace it."

"Okay… I guess?" Alfyn said, unsure. "We can probably find someone who'd sell you one. Now, what about those metal rods? What are those for?"

"Climbing."

"Wha'?" The look on Alfyn's face was absolute gold. Some cross between being weirded out and trying really hard to figure out the last piece to a difficult puzzle. Heh. "But… But, how?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out." He quipped, taking the metal rods and securing them at their proper place. To be honest, they were a little impractical to carry around sometimes but that was the nature of his job. He had to find a balance between light travel and useful tools and he found that he really couldn't do without his trusty rods. "Besides, you can always stab someone with them when you're in a pinch. Or disarm them, depends."

"Depends on what?"

"Whether or not they are in my hands or on my feet." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, when in reality the rods were quite a rare tool. He was maybe enjoying teasing the big guy a little too much. "Do you mind giving me the cloths?"

He handed them over without protest. "I'm assumin' you already know what I wanna know next?"

"Cloth, Medicine Man. Cloth is not a thieving specific tool. It's a travelling one with a few special thieving applications." He explained slowly, cutting Alfyn off before he could voice his next question. "It's to wrap around skin to protect it, either from biting cold or from the sun. It can be used as a bonus water storage if you know what you're doing. You can use it to secure things with them if you your rope is too long for a certain job. You can use it to smack people in the face with- you know, those types of people that don't deserve real bodily harm but are still idiots. Lots of stuff."

Alfyn hummed. "Do you just find creative applications for everything, then?"

"That pretty much sums up my entire job, yes." He deadpanned. _True enough_ , he supposed. That, tricking people out of money, and stealing valuables to make into hard cold cash. He continued with packing and took the slates out of Alfyn's hands. "Give me that."

"They're for takin' notes, right?" Oh, Medicine Man was learning. Maybe one day he would stop wasting people's time with obvious questions. Maybe there's hope for the world yet.

Therion hastily scribbled a few symbols on the desk, mainly to check if his slates were still working properly. Aeber help him if these things had gotten wet somewhere down the line.

He saw Alfyn looking over his shoulder, eyeing the symbols with curiosity. There was a circle with an X on it (his usual mark for 'Entrance' or 'Escape'), a simplified arrow (a classic directional sign of course. Pretty straight forward – this particular one had two arrow feathers drawn on it, marking the necessary distance to be about two hundred steps). The third sign was the silhouette of a bird head, a much more complicated yet still simple sign to draw. It had a more complicated meaning, too – It used to mean 'Look-out'. An assigned position you could only really use with a partner. Needless to say, he didn't use it much anymore.

"What are these supposed to mean?" Alfyn asked, ever curious.

Therion didn't reply for a while. "Just some symbols I often use.", was the answer he eventually settled on.

"Why use symbols at all?" The apothecary asked, confounded. "Why not jus' write it out instead?"

Great. Looking back, it seemed logical, but really? The country bumpkin could read? What was the world coming to? "Well, that would be nice and easy", he quipped, bitterness seeping into his voice. "If not for the fact that I can't write."

"Wha'? Not at all? Read, maybe?"

"You don't have to rub it in." He sighed when Alfyn stumbled over his words to apologize. "I could probably figure it out if I had to, but" he made a vague hand gesture. "I never had to." He shrugged. It had bothered him a bit when he was younger, having an area of expertise where he simply lacked, but he was over it now. He'd still use symbols even if he could write, after all.

Ah well, there were more pressing concerns.

"Ah." Alfyn said and left it at that, much to Therion's relief. And immediate annoyance because he didn't care what Alfyn would do with any information, obviously. _Shouldn't have talked so much._ From the corner of his eye, Therion saw the apothecary holding up one of his ceramic balls and throwing it lightly into the air, which distracted Therion from his own thoughts by nearly giving him a heart attack. _My babies!_

Alfyn did catch it again, thank Aeber, which led to Therion relaxing. It also didn't take him another second to snap at Alfyn, "What do you think you're doing, you oaf?" He snatched the ball away, storing it away safely and securely, leaving Alfyn to stammer out confused apologies. "Don't you have eyes? They'll break of you aren't careful! So, handle with caution, or I'll smack you."

That somehow got a grin out of the big guy. What a weird person. "Don't deserve real bodily harm, I hope?" He teased.

"Watch it, or I'll maim you."

"Feisty." Alfyn rubbed the back of his neck. Looked like he wanted to get back on track. Whatever their track actually was. "Now, wanna tell me what exactly they are?"

"You're never going to stop, are you?" Alfyn shook his head enthusiastically. _Yeah, I figured._ "They're bombs.", he explained frankly, causing Medicine Man to look beyond shocked, probably imagining how close he came to actually losing a limb in an explosion. Heh, the guy was funnily emotive. "Relax, they're smoke bombs. Great for creating covers and distractions, not quite as effective on the bodily harm bit."

He put on his best 'sad face'. Maybe a little pout and a dash of watering puppy-dog eyes too, just to really sell it. "It's a shame, really."

"…I honestly can't tell if yer pullin' my leg or not."

"I'm joking of course." He said, grinning a bit. "In any case, they're rare and proportionally hard to get by. They don't just sell them in shops. The powder inside is complicated to make too, so the amount of people who can make them is abysmally small. And only guards of _really_ rich people have them – If they're fine with using such 'dishonorable' tactics, that is." He scoffed. "In short, I don't have many and I don't want you wasting them because you weren't paying attention."

Alfyn perked up as soon as he heard him talking about a powder. Damn, looked like he had found his match in the puppy-eyes look. "What exactly 's in there, anyway?"

"Sleepweed, some kind of explosive seeds" He shrugged. "Something else, probably. I wouldn't know. I don't know if you noticed, but I'm not exactly an expert on the subject."

"Yeah." The apothecary said, eyeing Therion's own homemade concoctions – The last thing still left on the desk. "By the by, I suggest gettin' another supplier for yer potions, Therion. Not gonna trie to be nice here: These are pretty terrible."

"Didn't I just say I wasn't an expert on this?"

"Wait." There he went again, staring at Therion. It probably wasn't healthy for one guy to look this confused so often in just a day, but gods if it wasn't amusing. "You" He pointed at Therion, then at the potions. "Made those? As in, yourself?"

Therion nodded. "…For a homemade amateur job, they're decent, I hope?"

"Nah, they're still absolute crap. But it's impressive they even function properly if they're a rush job. Making these things ain't really easy."

"I know." Therion groaned. "Especially if you're on the move. It's hard and it's annoying."

"Why don't you, I dunno, just steal some potions from a shop? Not that I condone it, but it seemed more like somethin' a guy like you would do. Rather than make 'em yourself."

"Therion held up a finger. "First, Apothecaries have a terrible habit of not labeling their things." Medicine Man at least had the decency to look sheepish. "I think you guys have some kind of innate sixth sense for that. Second" Another finger joined. "You don't steal consumable drinks from an apothecary anymore after you accidently grabbed a poison. I don't want a repeat performance of that."

That had been a rather unpleasant occurrence. Granted, it hadn't actually been him that drank the poison, and that was probably a good thing. For a small underweight child like he had been, the dose would have probably been lethal. Instead, it had been Darius who had drunk it. He remembered tending to a half-delirious Darius for about a week; He had been worried sick when the fever spiked, but they hadn't had the money to afford an apothecary.

Hadn't stopped him from trying. He begged and pleaded with everyone he could find, ask them for help, anything. Nobody had helped them.

Eventually, Darius had eventually just slept it off. He was so mad at Therion for stealing the wrong potion. They just… stopped talking about it and that was the end of it. But Therion had always been a bit cautious when it came to unlabeled potions afterwards.

"And third", he finished. "I find so many base ingredients everywhere, I don't exactly know what else to use them for. They don't really sell, throwing them away would be a pity, and they aren't really useful in their current state."

"You always have elaborate answers, huh?"

"…I don't have to tell you my reasons, you know."

"Fair." Alfyn turned around, emptying the bottles. _Hey, these are mine, you ass._ The Apothecary smiled stupidly at him, as if he didn't just ruin hours of his hard work – not that he could really be mad if the kind of smile that distinctly reminded him of sunny days and a light breeze and apple pie and little golden puppies and a whole other bunch of sappy stuff that made him want to gag was directed at him. "Well, how 'bout I make yer a proper batch before ya leave? Jus' a bunch of healin' balms, some ingestible medicine, and a bit of basic anti-toxins, all finely labeled?"

That sounded way too good to be true. Who would go out of their way to make something like that for a stranger? "How rich do you think I am?"

"All free of charge of course! Can't have ya die on your travels, now can we?"

He blinked. "…you're weird."

Alfyn ignored him in favor of sifting through more ingredients. _Wait, he's not actually going through with this._ They sat in silence for a while, Alfyn happily humming in working while Therion was still trying to figure out the mystery that was Alfyn.

He thought how odd it was, seeing Alfyn actually being quiet for once. Or well, as quiet as Medicine Man ever got – he still hummed and muttered about some rare herb or another. "Hey, Therion?" He asked with a soft voice, intriguing Therion. This seemed important.

Therion hummed to signal he was listening. "There was one other thing I wanted ta' ask of yer. 'Cause you know, I've been thinkin' lately – I mean thinkin' for a while now but you bein' here has jus' really reinforced the feeling and-"

"Get to the point."

"Okay right, sorry. Well, here's the deal: I know there's a bunch a people who need an apothecary but don' have one nearby, or don' have the opportunity to get help from them." He seemed almost personally offended by the idea of someone not helping. "An' well, I don't wanna leave it at that. I wanna go where people need me, instead of stayin' here. I want to travel the continent."

He met Therion's eyes, mouth drawn into a straight line. "So, just hypothetically. Would you mind me comin' along with you on yer journey?"

 _What kind of question is that?_ His first instinct was to answer 'No.' He didn't do teams. Not anymore, not after… not after Darius. But at the same time, his brain betrayed him and made him imagine what it would be like to have Alfyn around. He could actually brute-force his way through situations he'd usually have to avoid. There would be no more infected cuts, no more untreated fevers. He already nearly died on the short way from Borderfall to Clearbrook – who knew what would happen until he arrived in Noblecourt?

The only reason to say no was the fact that he didn't do people. That he didn't want to risk relying on someone, or having someone rely on him.

"I'll… think about it." He heard himself say. Alfyn beamed as if he had already accepted the request, not avoided the question. _This is going to come back to bite me in the ass no matter what I choose._

As soon as he was officially allowed to walk around town, Therion fled the house and located the alehouse. He had been cooped up so long, finally moving around again was a relief.

He told Medicine Man he'd be leaving early tomorrow morning (since it was already after midday and he wouldn't get far if he went now) and left before he could see the sad look he was sure overtook Alfyn at the news. He had pondered his actions and words, and eventually realized that the Apothecary seemed to have formed some kind of attachment to him.

It shouldn't bother him. It wasn't his problem. If Alfyn wanted to like his company, that had nothing to with him. If he felt melancholy at the thought of Therion leaving, that's not his fault. Therion hadn't asked Alfyn to care – quite the opposite in fact. If Alfyn still wanted to befriend someone like him, then that told more about Alfyn's idiotically big heart than his likeability.

So, he ran out of the room instead of dealing with… whatever was going on between him and the Apothecary.

The tavern itself was easy to find. A task made even easier by the fact that Alfyn did give him directions multiple times so far – apparently he went drinking a lot. Which, yeah, he could imagine that. The house itself was what he would describe as 'distinctly Clearbrook'. Warm, inviting and home-y, like everything else around here.

Didn't anyone ever get sick of this?

Inside, the room was about half-full. Some people there for a late lunch while others were already drinking and having a grand old time, laughing and joking with each other.

Not that they had anything of interest to say. It wasn't like there were any grand treasures he'd find in Clearbrook of all places. He sat down in the far left corner of the room and waved the bartender over.

"Ey! Therion, ain't it?" The bartender asked him. Therion raised an eyebrow. "Don't look tha' surprised. You've been the only thin' Alfyn's been talkin' 'bout all week."

He groaned. "Does everyone in this town know him?"

"Pretty much." The bartender chuckled. "He's a good kid, that Alfyn. Never figured he'd grow up into such a' fine young lad, though. Want a drink?"

"Give me some apple cider." He asked, leaning onto the counter. Might as well get some stories out of this. "And what do you mean with that?"

"Used to be a right troublemaker, that child. I remember him stealin' all kinds a' stuff to play with – marbles, coins, Alec's pipe. Once, he set Ariana's rose bushes on fire. His late mother, bless her souls, used to get near heart-attacks from the small tyke."

"Really now." How interesting. He wouldn't have pegged Medicine Man to have been anything else but a sweet, loveable child. Seemed in keeping with his current character.

"Yeah, he was a handful. But, he's got a hard a gold, and everyone knows it now. He's quite popular round here. Ya know", he put down the apple cider in front of Therion. "He's a good guy. If you ask 'im he'll do 'bout anythin', Alf will. Without question, too. Don' ruin that."

With that, he left him to nurse his drink in silence.

The bartender wasn't wrong, too. Alfyn wanted to go out into the world, but he didn't know what the world had in store. He was a believer. If he left, the world would take and take and take from the apothecary, chip away at his optimism and replace it with bitterness. It wouldn't even take the world – as a thief, he himself could be the cause.

That would be inevitable. Maybe satisfying, too. Having Alfyn realize how the world really worked. See some well-deserved cynicism take root in the naïve apothecary's heart. Some things could only be taught by experience, after all.

The door chimed. Through the door, a young woman – Meryl, Therion's brain supplied. "Gram! Have you seen Alfyn? Quick, please?"

The bartender answered. "Has to be home still. Why, what's up?"

"It's… it's Nina! We found her collapsed, and… she's home, in bed, but Zeph asked for Alf's help. Zeph said she's been poisoned! She could be dying!"

 _Nina?_ As soon as he heard, Therion stood up. He didn't bother finishing his drink, or answered the confused questions of Meryl or the bartender. Instead, he rushed out of the tavern, run back to Alfyn's house. _Nina won't have to deal with it alone._

 **A/N: Okay, so i wanted to say some things. Maybe a little late for me to say something... but anyway. I wanted to say that, while I'm very happy that... people are actually reading this, I suppose, I'm also probably... never going to read any of those comments. Mainly because I'm** ** _terrible_** **with attention. The last time i published something, I read the comments (Which were all very nice and actually pretty fun), then panicked about it and basically deleted my account immediately. So... for everyone's sake, I'm just not going to do that. Sorry. It's not you, it's me.**

 **Other than that, currently the story is still in the starting points, where its admittedly not very unique. I suppose that'll change, I just really really think this way is probably the most likely way the game would go if it had... more of a story. Also, it's probably obvious, but I do try to update once a month. So. Yeah.**

 **Thanks for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 - Snake Hunt**

 _The distringo valus, ore more commonly knowe as the blotted viper, beth ane animal of the classification Tetrapodomorpha Reptilia Squamata Serpentes Viperidae. The Creature can groueth up to fifty meters in rare cases, ant beth findede in darc haffen long solenoglyphous fangs to uson thir venom from glands located towarths the rear of his upper jaws. Their location alloweth the teeth to cerkel back ante forth, together or indebendant. The bite beth truly fast, moref a stab tha'a bite. The amount his venom beth freely counterolleth by the beaste. The blotted viper haffeth keelede scallen, stocky build ant a shorte tail comparative to his size and beth sluggish ant slowe, in behalf of holden eggs inside thir bodys.  
\- A small entry in an unfinished bestiary, found near Swarkii _

"Therion?" Alfyn stood up immediately. He hadn't expected Therion to be back so soon. ( _Or even at all_ , a voice said in his head. _What reason does he have to stay? To let you go with him?_ ) It didn't help that the Thief was out of breath, him having run back the obvious conclusion. "What's wrong?"

Therion took a deep breath, trying to look nonchalant, but the small flame of panic in his eye betrayed him. "Don't know. That one girl just came in, shouting something about Nina collapsing. Figured you'd might want to be involved in that."

"Nina? Where is she?" Why would anyone go to him instead of Zeph when Nina was involved? Sure, he was worried, but it must be even worse for him. "What happened anyway?"

Therion leaned against the wall. "Poison, apparently."

 _Poisoned? What could have…?_ She probably hadn't been attacked, like Therion had been. Meryl would have mentioned that. The only other possibility would be a bite from an insect or a snake. "Okay.", he breathed out, worry seeping into his voice. Nina was a really sweet kid, if a little reckless. He worried she might have picked up a bit too much of his own former attitude. She certainly didn't get it from her more soft-spoken older brother.

Therion shuffled awkwardly. "You're going to try and figure out what happened." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Seemed like Therion knew just what he was about by now. "How do we do that?"

Alfyn blinked at him. "Wait. You're comin' with?" He shot back, genuinely surprised. He hadn't figured the aloof thief the type to help random children he didn't know. Guess one shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

The man in question snarled, looking off to the side and hiding in his scarf. "…It's not like I have anything better to do tonight." He mumbled into it, purposely avoiding eye contact. It made Alfyn chuckle, which in turn made Therion glare at him. "In any case! Where do we start, hm?"

 _Right, Business._ "Right, let's figure this out as fast as we can." He grabbed his bag from where he left it on the side of his bed, already halfway out of the door. "We'll ask around, see if anyone knows everything."

So, with single-minded determination, the two of them went to find a very specific person Alfyn had in mind: Nina's best friend and often unintentional accomplice in her reckless schemes, Lily. They soon found her sitting in the grass near the river by Zeph's house, nervously kicking at stones and looking over to the house repeatedly, likely worried about Nina's state. She wrung her hands and frowned whenever she did look over.

Therion cleared his throat, startling the girl and leading her to notice their presence. She shrunk in on herself a little bit, and Alfyn let a warm smile take over his face, hoping to make her feel better. "Hey."

"H-Hey, Alfyn." She gave him a tiny small back, then turned around, her hands shaking. "I- I don't remember anything, honest!"

Alfyn bit his lip. He knew she was scared of getting into trouble… He kneeled down in front of the little girl, so he was eye to eye with her. "Come on now, Lily." He said as gently as possible. _If she was bitten, she should have some…_ "The bite marks on Nina – you sure you don't know where they come from?" Lily turned away from him and wildly shook her head. "I wanna help your friend, but I'm an apothecary, not a miracle worker." He paused. "If I don't know what bit her, there ain't nothin' I can do."

There was a long pause, as Lily struggled with the choice laid out to her. He knew the girl just needed a little more prodding… "You wanna help her too, right? So just tell me… please?"

Lily swallowed and turned back to face Alfyn, eyes puffy. "Nina… Nina wanted to pick some waterblooms. She said she wanted to get some for her brother 'cause they're his favorite, and some for Alfyn because you always play with us, and some for the nice mister who gave us marbles to play with…" _Marbles? What's that all about?_ Alfyn thought, confused. Therion, who was overhearing their conversation, stiffened behind him. Alfyn smiled. _I see._

"B-But then" Lily continued her story. "There was this giant snake, and it leapt at us, and we ran back without the flowers, but it bit Nina 'cause we didn't run fast enough…"

 _Oh gods, no._ "Please don't tell me… was the snake black?" He asked, suddenly standing up to full height. _Please be a black tailring, please, Dohter. Anything but a viper._

The girl was startled by his fast movement and dramatic change of voice, but he couldn't really help it. If his worry proved to be right, this situation just went from bad to worse. He already felt like panicking thanks to the image of events that was forming inside his head. "N-no…", came the tiny answer to his question.

On the inside, he flew into a string of curses. This was not a good sign – there were just a few types of venomous snakes living around this area, and if the culprit wasn't a black tailring… "Was it amber with blotches on it?" _Was it a blotted viper?_

"H-how did you know?" The girl asks, eyes wide. He breathes out, leaning down and ruffles her hair a bit.

"Thanks." He says genuinely. "Now I'll be able to help out Nina, yeah? So how about you go home now, I'm sure your parents wonder where you are so late." Lily cast an unsure gaze to the side of the house again. "Don't worry, me and Zeph will take care of her." He smiled at her, hoping she wouldn't pick up on his own feelings of unease. Children could be awfully perceptive.

She didn't immediately, but he eventually coaxed her into going home. "So…" Therion started up next to him. "Do tell, medicine man. What now?"

"The Snake that bit Nina must have been a blotted viper. Giant, nasty things livin' in the caves jus' outside a town. Worse, you need their toxin to make an antidote for it, and we got nothin'." He shrugged, worried. "We're gonna have to collect some."

"…" The thief bit his lip and looked to the ground. Alfyn wondered what exactly went through his companion's head. Eventually, Therion rose an eyebrow towards him. "… 'we'? How exactly do you plan to help?"

I can't believe this." Therion stated, watching Alfyn playing around with his axe. He was rotating it around, it feeling just the right amount of heavy in his hands. _Not bad._ The thief's confounded face was a pretty funny side, he'll admit, but he doubted Therion would appreciate him giggling because of it. Shame, too. "You actually do fight with an axe."

"Surprised?" he bragged. "I've always helped out with the wood hackin' at home!"

Therion laughed, although it ended up as more of a keened noise getting stuck in his throat than a proper sound of amusement. "I can tell." He shook his head, turned around and moved towards where the entrance to the cave of Rhiyo lay.

Alfyn quickly made to follow him. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, Nothing."

After that little exchange, they walked in silence for a while. Reaching the entrance to the cave didn't take much time, luckily. They were pretty close. Probably want made it so easy for the children to wander, but it was helpful in this particular situation.

Therion was really concentrated on the task. He kept his eyes out, and in general was a lot more careful than he could ever hope to be – he had already been chastised about four times for moving to loudly. It was fascinating, how silent his companion can move. At some points, he was convinced that Therion had just up and disappeared, moving in the shadows, unseen.

It did give an awful lot of time to think, however. It wouldn't help any, he knew, but he couldn't help it. His mind tended to go into overdrive whenever he was nervous, and willingly going into the den of a snake at least twice your size seemed like a really good reason to be nervous.

While he was no stranger to venturing into dangerous places in order to forage, this was on a bit larger scale than the usual day to day adventure as an apothecary.

He fiddled with the bracelets on his arm – three simple strings of cloth usually hidden by his clothes. They were adorned with three objects each; a stone, a dried clover and a coin for one and a dried waterbloom flower, a piece of paper, and another coin for the second one and a stone, a feather and a sunflower petal on the third.

He just hoped he wouldn't fail at any crucial moments. Failure here would mean Nina's death. No pressure at all here. Totally manageable.

"So", he began, when the constant throb, throb, throb of water dropping on stone and the constant tap, tap, tap of their feet finally got to him. How was Therion staying this calm, anyway? He had to be nervous, too, right? "May be a bit weird to ask this now of all times, but, how about, once we get what we need and Nina's up and runnin' again, we go and hit the tavern together sometime?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt like Orsterra's biggest idiot. The stare Therion fixed him with didn't quite help with the sentiment either, basically screaming _'Really? You're asking this right now?'_ at him. What exactly was he thinking? Gods, Therion must think him especially incompetent now. Even worse, he already knew the answer would likely be 'no'. He didn't even know if Therion liked drinking, for Dohter's sake!

He was about to backpedal somehow, say something along the lines of _'Nevermind, we should focus on other things for now'_ , Therion actually answered him. "…Sure. One mug. Your treat."

As small and cold as the answer was, it made Alfyn beam. He may not have known Therion for a long time but enough had passed for him to guess that the thief didn't just go around having a fun evening out with just anybody. So as far as Alfyn was concerned, this was a huge step for their ever-growing friendship. Damn him if he wasn't going to wear this badge with pride.

Therion fell silent again, and Alfyn busied himself with other things. Namely whenever he saw flowers or herbs he knew they were low on back home. Might as well take them while he's there, who knows when he'll next get the chance. In time, they might save a life, after all.

"Not to tell you how to do your job or anything", He heard Therion judge him as he was picking a few purple flowers off the ground. "but don't we have a little girl's life to save?"

"And what do we do when we get that snake venom, only to find we're out of other ingredients for it? Better get 'em now. Just gimme a sec, yea?" Alfyn said and grabbed the rest of he was busy plucking of. Carefully, he wouldn't want to harm their roots, after all. "So…" he continued, standing up.

Therion went back to walking as well, falling into step beside him. "What do you want now, Greengrass?", he tried to go for annoyed, judging by his face, but it came off as more amused than anything. _Friend. Ship._

"Just wondering." He had been doing that a lot today, he thought. Especially when it came to Therion. While he understood that Therion was a secretive guy, he was naturally curious. Of course, he wasn't insensitive enough to ask the really impossible questions, even though they burned on his tongue. So, instead of asking about the thief's worrying array of scars or the reasons for his attitude, he would go a different, simpler route for now. "You're a thief, right?"

"I think we established that, yes."

"And you're not particularly bad at your job. Not a 'common' thief and all that."

Therion paused. "I suppose. Are you going somewhere with this?"

Now, here's his question of the day. "If you're one of the best in your line of work…" he mused out-loud. "You must have a massive stash of treasure hidden away somewhere."

He had had the thought a few days ago, when he was thinking and coming up with all kinds of questions about Therion he'd want to have answers to eventually. After Therion had told him of the significance of the bangle, answering at least some questions he had, he couldn't stop. He had never met a thief before, and it was intriguing.

"…Let's just say I'm prepared for the retirement."

Alfyn's mouth went dry. How… How much was that, exactly? "I… I see…" That was a mind-boggling revelation. How long exactly had he been thieving, then?

Therion, completely misinterpreting the uncharacteristic silence caused by Alfyn's struggle to wrap his mind around this, looked a bit sheepish. "It's not that big a deal.

Alfyn blurted out, "I'll be the judge of that." Without thinking, and immediately went back to chiding himself for saying something so stupid. _Even if he takes me with, a thief showing of their secret treasure? Unlikely._ "If you'd ever want to show me, that is! You don't have to or anything."

"…" Therion shook his head, leading to his own face growing red enough to rival a tomato. Wasn't talking usually his thing? That one thing he was really, really good at? Because he seemed pretty adept at putting his foot into his mouth today. _So smooth._

"Hey, Greengrass."

"Yeah?" _So, we're abandoning this conversation? Good. That's good, yeah._ "What is it?"

Therion pointed at a patch of blue-tinted flowers up ahead, in a large clearing. They grew under a crack in the ceiling, where the sun shone in. It was well hidden inside the flower bed, but Alfyn could see amber-colored scales peeking through the blue. Seemed like the viper was enjoying the warmth of the sun as well.

He gulped. The viper was truly massive, as he had figured. Its body was nearly as broad as Alfyn himself, to the point where he wouldn't be surprised if the beast could gobble up entire humans without stretching its jaw. Maybe they should count themselves lucky that Nina only got bitten and nothing more happened.

Second, it was incredibly long. The viper had curled in on itself, but not out of comfort, but simply because it didn't fit inside the flower bed in its entirety if it lay any other way. I he had to guess, he'd estimate it to be about six or seven times as long as he was tall. _…impressive._

Currently, the viper was resting, not having noticed them quite yet. Not that that helped cam his nerves second thought, he really should have come up with a plan for this. Zeph would be really annoyed at him if he was here now.

And he had to harvest the venom of this beast.

Something told him that holding it over a jar and massaging the head until the venom came out on its own wasn't going to work with this one. Just a hunch.

He adjusted the grip on his axe, a big and unhandy thing, but sharp and deadly none-the-less. He wouldn't have had the skill and finesse for any finer weaponry anyway, and he was used to the old thing. Next to him, Therion unsheathed a long dagger, a weapon made for stabbing rather than slashing.

The viper started to move. Slowly, more and more of its elongated body was set into motion. The different colored scales bled into each other, creating a whirl through the flowers. It was hypnotizing, almost. The head faced towards them, while the body moved from left to right. Left and right, over and over, but the head remained tightly fixed on Alfyn, the viper's tongue darting out periodically.

 _Well, this is it._ He thought. _Time to get this over with._

"Well, if you ain't just the fellow we were lookin' for… Sorry to drop in unannounced.", he started. He tried to make his voice sound as cheerful and assuring as if he was talking with a nervous patient – not because he thought he could persuade the viper to reconsider attacking them, but because he felt, by acting like he was used to, a little less like he was about to die.

Didn't stop Therion from glaring daggers at him. He could practically feel the thief judging him for good-naturedly bantering with a snake. Really, he was just trying to keep himself calm! "Don't suppose you could spare a bit of snakebite, could ya?"

The viper 'stood' up, cutting an imposing figure before him. _Getting looked down upon by a giant reptile. That's a new low._ It opened its mouth to screech at them, showing off its teeth; those two white, glistening fangs that hold the venom they wanted.

Before Alfyn could even process what was happening, or even think of an action to take, he felt a rush motion beside him. The viper followed the movement with its head, and so did he. Therion was there, trying to get out of sight, but the beast was just as fast as the quick-moving thief. The two danced around each other, step, step, step. _I can barely make out what's goin' on!_

He blinked and tore himself away from the scene. Therion would be fine; if anyone had to be worried about the other, it would be the thief. _I should at least try to pull my weight…_

But what to do? The viper was preoccupied, yes. He had an opening to attack it. He ran towards the viper. He raised his axe, blood pounding in his ears. If he could just bring the weapon down. Hack the thing clean in two. Ideally. He'd put all his strength into this one swing. So, he breathed out – and suddenly, his lungs couldn't extend anymore.

Pressure on his ribcage. He lost the grip on the handle. Heard a loud , he couldn't _breathe…_ The ground was gone too, feet hanging in the air. He was in the air, scales coiled around him, spots dancing in front of his eyes. He noticed himself losing focus, nearly slipping. That realization sparked panic, made his brain active and got his body to _move_ again. Screaming with all the air he had left, kicking blindly left and right. His feet caught warm, rough scales. Position confirmed, he threw his foot into the viper's side as hard as he could.

He heard a high-pitched his. The grip around him loosened, to the point where he could wiggle out of it. He slid down through the scales, landing on the ground, panting. His lungs burned. _Never noticed just how much I love dusty cavern air…_ He took a moment, to recover, then reclaimed his axe.

He looked up, taking in the picture in front of him quickly. The viper was injured. Its face was bloody, as was Therion's dagger. The pain must have been what made it lose its grip. _So he saved me._

The thief himself was kneeing on the ground, Dagger raised. The bloody point locked straight onto the beast. The viper shook its head, focusing back in on the enemy in front of it. It loomed over the thief, opening its jaw.

Wider and wider it went, until it was twice the size from before. Up, down, and it would easily- !

 _Not if I have somethin' to say 'bout it._ This time, it truly had forgotten about him. Too busy with the one who actually hurt it, no doubt. He raised his axe.

 _Jus' like choppin' through a particularly nasty log._ He swung down, breaking scaled and breaking bones with a loud, satisfying crack. The Axe lodged itself deep into the body. Soon, blood began to pool out in waves, filling the cavern with a nauseating, metallic scent. Blood painted the flowers red. Tremors ran up the viper's body. Its mouth closed halfway, the head dropping right into Therion's lap.

Alfyn slumped down to the ground, utterly exhausted. He figured he deserved a bit of a breather after killing a viper three times his size. Really couldn't stress that enough. Sadly, it wasn't time yet to take a proper break; Injuries to evaluate, venom to harvest, bodies to clean up.

He gave himself a quick once-over. Turns out, he came out of the fight pretty unscathed, save for a few bruises from being in a chokehold. Though his ribs might be bruised themselves. Not broken however, so that was good.

Alfyn forced himself up, wincing a bit at the pain. He crouched down next to Therion, who seemed fine. Well, except for his right food, which got tangled up in the underwood on the ground. It wrapped itself around the ankle at cut into the flesh, a bloody mess that Therion probably made worse by yanking his foot around.

He would have tried to examine it closer, but Therion looked as if he'd bite his head off if he touched it. Only reason he didn't was probably the snake head blocking him. He'd just to this later, then. It did seem to look worse than it actually was. It could wait a minute.

Now reassured with both his and his companion's relative unharmed state, he went and concentrated on the most important part – actually taking the venom. He took out a jar, a needle and a small knife. _Allright, let's get to work then!_

He heaved the head up, taking it off Therion, who snarled a "Finally!" at him for it. He opened it and cut into the jaw, careful to not touch the tooth still glistening with venom. Following the connection, he found the gland; The place where the venom was stored. It was as big as a small child's fist and swollen with its contents. He cut it off with a good chunk of surrounding tissue. Wouldn't want to accidently rip it open and lose all the venom. Even if he technically had a failsafe on the other side of the head.

Taking the needle, he punctured the gland over the jar, and the liquid flushed in. "And that's that."

Therion stayed silent through the entire ordeal, clearly exhausted. Alfyn supposed he couldn't blame the guy; While he knew the thief wasn't a stranger to combat he didn't think his friend usually made a habit of fighting giant venomous snakes.

"Thank Aeber. Let's just get out of here already." Therion took Alfyn's outstretched hand to pull himself up, wincing when he accidently put pressure on his mangled leg. "As soon as we're back in Clearbrook, you're fixing that."

"Looks pretty nasty. What happened?"

The thief scowled and looked away, a face Alfyn recognized by now as being embarrassed. "…I tripped."

Really, that's all? "Well, at least it ain't nothin' too severe. How did that happen anyway?"

"Shut up, I was distracted." He crossed his arms and walked away, though Alfyn was certain he spotted a bit of red color from under Therion's white locks. _Definitely embarrassed._ He looked back at him, pouting. And putting pressure on his foot again. On purpose. Multiple times. What was wrong with that guy?

Alfyn rushed to his side, dragging the thief until he had no choice but to lean against his shoulder. "Come on! You're just goin' to make it worse, ya know?" He didn't get a verbal reply, but there also was no resistance on Therion's part, the stubborn thief actually allowing him to help keep his balance. He was going to count that as a win, too. "Okay. Let's finally get out of there."

"One sec." Therion pushed him off, and there Alfyn almost wanted to yell at him. But the thief simply crouched down on his knee rather than on his injured foot. Therion swept up a handful of waterblooms not drenched in snake blood.

"Waterblooms. They're not only beautiful, they also make quite the effective bitters. It ain't a surprise that Zeph likes them so much." _Or that you did,_ he thought, thinking of the dried waterbloom he carried on his wrist.

Therion hummed. "They are quite pretty. The colors pretty close to sapphires…"

"What do you need them for?"

Therion smirked, holding out the flowers for him. "One for you, one for me and one for Zeph, right?"

 _Oh._ Alfyn couldn't really help the smile that crept on his face when he took the flowers from Therion and pocketed them safely in his satchel. _Knew you were just pretending._

"That'll do 'er."

Now, with the anti-toxin in her system, Nina looked to be in much better health. It always was one of his favorite parts of his job – that moment where his patient's pain elevated in an instant, where they regained just a bit of color in their cheeks. The moment where the pain lifted and they could breathe easy again was all he strived to achieve.

It was an even better feeling when he managed to help someone so young.

Zeph slumped to the ground in the corner of the room, worn out from spending all day worrying about his sister, no doubt. He smiled at Alfyn, face lit up with gratefulness and really, that was more than enough for him to know that all the trouble had been worth it. "Thanks, Alf. I really wouldn't know what to do without you."

 _If I leave…_ Alfyn hummed. "Totally lose your bearings probably. I mean, you already constantly misplace your things."

"What is it you always say? 'I'd misplace my head if it weren't attached to me'?"

"To be fair, you totally would." Alfyn laughed, but it didn't have mirth behind it. _If I leave, will you be fine?_ "Hey, Zeph?"

"Yeah?"

Now or never, then. "What would you say if… Well, if I would, hypothetically… eventually decide to… Eeeeeh." He couldn't do it. Great. But he had to, or otherwise he'd never he'd never manage to take that first step towards achieving his dream.

"You want to leave, don't you?" What? "Oh, come on. I know you better than anyone, Al. I mean, we've been friends for how long now?"

Alfyn let a half-hearted smile form. Of course his best friend would know without him having to spell it out. "How long did you know?"

"I know you toyed with the idea ever since your mom died."

That was a year ago. It was something he would never forget, how his mother slowly withered away under his hands, where he could do nothing to cure her illness. Even after studying for years, staying up night after night after night to read, and learning all he could every single day, he still wasn't able to save her life. It was a crushing realization for him, that no matter what he did, he couldn't possibly save everyone.

"But I don't think you had the courage to actually go and leave. At least, not before… not before you met Therion, did you?"

Alfyn bit his lip, embarrassment filling him with embarrassment. He felt as if he was put on a silver platter. He should have remembered how observant Zeph could be… "W-Well, I mean, he's really knowledgeable about all kind of places, you know? And that's just really inspiring if you want to go and travel the world!"

Zeph chuckled. "So? When are you going to ask him if you can leave with him, heh?"

"Well, what about everyone here, in Clearbrook? I know you're a skilled apothecary, probably even better than me. But, I can't just leave you to tend to everyone alone! Besides, who'd cut your ego down to size? Who'll listen to Gerta's grumblings? And Meryl's tales of unrequited love?"

"Alfyn…" Zeph shook his head. "You're aware they're all about you, right?" Alfyn blinked, interrupting his own train of thought. "You don't even know how often that girl has woken me up in the middle of the night, talking about Alfyn this and Alfyn that."

Alfyn really didn't really know what to say with that. "I'm… honored? I think?"

"You've always been like that…" Zeph shook his head. "One day, you'll end up in real trouble, just because you're so nice…" His voice took on a whimsical tone, but his smile took the bite out of his chiding. "Never change."

He had never seen Zeph so impassionate. It was kind of awe-inspiring.

"What I want to say is this: I'll do it. You're always supporting everyone. Let me support them for you for once, and go chase your dream. Don't worry about a thing. I'll keep Clearbrook happy and healthy, I swear on my Life!"

"Zeph…"

"Go see the world, Alf. Do it with your heart at ease and your head held high."

"…you're the best friend a guy could ever ask for."

"So, you'll actually let me go with you?" Alfyn asked while he checked the bandages on Therion's leg. It was coming along nicely. They had been lucky that he hadn't broken anything, since that would have taken quite some time to heal. If there was one thing Alfyn had learned about Therion so far, it was that he hated sitting around and being out of commission.

It made him think of what other injuries Therion must have received before meeting him. Even if he hadn't seen the scars, he wasn't stupid, and the life of a thief was obviously dangerous. How many times had he had a brush with death in his life?

It saddened him to think that most of these injuries had gone untreated. Left to fester and heal on their own, with no one to aid him.

"Yeah." The thief nudged the him with his bandaged foot, actually lightly this time. Seems like his lessons are finally working. "I mean, I already said you could, didn't I?"

"Technically, you said you'd think about it."

"And that's exactly what I did. I'm already delayed enough as is, and having you travel with me could help speed up the process." Therion laid out his reasons for him. "Having an apothecary around is just plain practical. And besides, traveling together with someone who looks like a sellsword just makes the journey a lot safer."

Alfyn could feel himself grow cold at Therion's words. "In that situation, wouldn't it be more likely for you to protect me from them?"

"True, but it's not like they know that. And you do look like you could snap someone in half easily." Therion quipped.

"…That's not really the look I'm going for."

"You should own that. Making use of other people's inherent assumption of you is surprisingly useful, you know."

Call him nosy, but Alfyn really wanted to know how he came to that conclusion. "And what kind of assumption do they usually make about you?"

Therion's eyes widened. "Well… I'm small and look younger than I am, so I sometimes work with that. Or, well, whatever really. You can do almost anything with a proper disguise or demeanor."

"…wait, how old are you then? Nineteen?"

"Twenty-two, actually."

 _…_ _Older than me, then._ "Okay." He thought about what else to say. Therion was in a bit of a chatty mood, and he didn't want to waste it. "You didn't really answer my question, now did you?" What people could think when they look at Therion, he had no idea. Therion didn't really fit a pre-made box. When you looked at him, Alfyn's first guess wouldn't even be of him being a thief. Or any other job, really. Maybe he kept his appearance as vague as possible? It'd make sense.

"W-well, in any case. You're not completely useless, and as a thief I live on practicality. I'd be an idiot to say no to free service, anyway. And besides…" He trailed of.

"Besides…? Besides what?"

"Nevermind." The thief retreated deeper into his scarf, his arms crossed before his chest and his cheeks puffing up in indignation. Alfyn had to keep himself from chuckling at the picture presented to him, he looked a bit like Nina did when she wanted to keep a secret. Juxtaposed with Therion's general attitude, it was somewhat hilarious to him.

"Oh come on, Therion! Don't leave me hanging like that." He pleaded.

"…" Therion became even smaller, hiding inside his own body. His reply was so small, Alfyn barely caught it. In fact, Therion probably didn't even intend for him to hear it. "…Besides, I don't completely hate your guts…"

"Great! So, I suppose we can leave… in about three days' time. That should give yer leg plenty time to heal up properly!"

"Next time, you're getting injured. For fairness' sake."

"Don't count on it."

 **A/N: I have no excuse, except this: I am an idiot. I knew my laptop would be unavailable for a week starting April first, and I originally planned on posting this a day early, since that would have been nice.**

 **Needless to say, I realised I forgot about it when I was already sitting in a train. So, here we are.**

 **Sorry?**

 **Anyway, hope you have a fine day! I won't promise something like that won't happen again, because again, I'm an idiot, but I'll try.**

 **See ya.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 - Trailing the desert**

 _Welcome to Sunshade! The city of exotic fruit, eternal summer, and endless fun in Orsterra. When you visit our beautiful city, please don't forget to pay a visit to the tavern, our cities' pride and joy! It is the largest of its kind in all of Orsterra, and includes not only exquisite beverages from across the world, but is also the stage for Sunshade's famous dancers, and has an area for card games and betting tables. Other sites include Sunshade Bazaar, which is open all year round and where luxurious wares can be found and bought, as well as the Sunshade Oasis close-by, the best place to refresh after trailing the desert.  
\- Flyer given out by the City of Sunshade _

Today was the day Therion would finally continue his journey towards Noblecourt. _This was supposed to be a quick stop, not this,_ he thought, exasperated. Somehow, that quick trip turned into a two-week long vacation of sorts. _And when I was supposed to be hurrying, too._

If those hired bandits hadn't been, he'd probably be arriving at Sunshade right about now, maybe he would even be further than that. Whoever payed them certainly knew how to be an effective pain in the ass. Why did they have him running errands in across the entire country anyway? Were there really no leads to the other two stones? He'd probably pass by on the way, and would be none-the-wiser. If he knew, this entire stupid mission would go by much faster.

Speaking of things that would make everything go faster, it would also help if Alfyn could hurry up already. The Apothecary had woken him up at the crack of dawn today, which already ruined his mood pretty much from the get-go. Alfyn's eerily cheerful disposition so early in the morning didn't help any, either.

But he had let it slide, without comment even, when medicine man told him he was officially discharged and probably would want to leave early, 'to not waste daylight'. Which, yes, sounded like something he would say. While he did absolutely loathe getting up early, and he never would while he was confined in a town, traveling on the road was a different matter entirely.

He didn't expect Alfyn to take this agonizingly long to pack and get ready. The sun was shining down on him from up above by now, showing it was midday. Even if they left today, they wouldn't make it far. _Yay._

Really, if medicine man wanted to do was to take hours saying farewell to every single person living in Clearbrook, including the animals, then he really didn't need to wake him up for it. All he was doing was standing in the background, looking vaguely annoyed, and listening in on the conversations. _I could have slept in today. So unfair._

"Bring me back something pretty, Alfyn!" That high voice would be Lily. The girl was clinging to Alfyn's jacket, and not ashamed at all to be begging. She was a lot more cheerful now that Nina was in the clear, though her nervousness has now morphed into restlessness. According to Alfyn, it would subside once Nina wasn't on bedrest anymore. "If yer gonna leave, then you have to bring something back for us!"

Zeph was standing behind the girl, chuckling. "Don't rip his coat off! He'll bring you something, I'm sure." He shrugged and grinned at his fellow apothecary. "If he can afford anything, that is."

"Rude, man." Alfyn tried to look wounded, but the giant grin still in place on his face ruined any credibility he may have had. _He wouldn't make a very good actor_ , Therion thought. _Too earnest._ "You know I'd find a way if it's for the kids."

The two of them shared a laugh, and Therion felt a little awkward just standing there. Seemed a bit like intruding on them.

He shook his head, as if to dispel the thought. He was just being silly.

Zeph sobered up first, his tone of voice serious as he smiled softly. "She'd be proud of you, you know. I'm sure of it."

"Yeah, I know." Alfyn replied, looking just as melancholy and… well, vulnerable as Zeph in that moment. Great, now he really felt like he was intruding. And a little left out, since he didn't exactly know who they were talking about. _Not like I need the information, of course._

"Well, before you leave, I do have something for you." Zeph changed the topic, easily destroying the weird atmosphere that had settled upon them without Therion noticing. He took of his satchel and held it out to Alfyn. "It's not much, but I thought you could have me with you this way."

Alfyn took the bag and looked it over critically. "You weren't kidding when you said it wasn't much." He wasn't wrong – both of the apothecaries' bags were old and frayed. If he saw one of them on a traveler, he probably wouldn't even bother taking a look inside.

Medicine Man took of his own bag and held it out to Zeph. "If I have yours, I don't really need mine, now do I? Let's trade again once I'm back."

 _Oh, how sweet._ Therion rolled his eyes. _Excuse me, but I can't stomach this scene much longer._

"Believe me, I hate to cut your lovely heart to heart short, but we really need to go."

All of them jumped at the sound of his voice, minus Lily, who was too preoccupied with making a flower crown out of the few already blooming spring flowers to concern herself with the adults talking. Seemed like the two apothecaries had forgotten that he was still standing close-by, judging by the embarrassment coloring their cheeks. _Guess I still got it._ "R-right! Sorry for makin' ya wait so long, Therion."

And just like that, all of his annoyance at Alfyn melted away. Oh, he tried, Aelfric knows he tried, but it was just so hard to stay mad at the guy when he apologized so earnestly for something so relatively small. He could have just told him to let him sleep in, so it really wasn't Alfyn's thought. "Great. Get a move on, herb boy.", he said and turned away, walking away from the scene while making sure that Alfyn couldn't see his face.

He didn't think it was physically impossible for him to look at Alfyn with a face of contempt right now, so he'd rather not show his face at all.

Therion heard Alfyn scramble to run after him and catch up, yelling out a quick goodbye at Zeph, before he turned towards Therion. "Herb boy's a new one. Getting upgraded from medicine man, am I?"

"If you're sticking around, you'll need a shorter nickname. Doesn't mean I'm abandoning the old one. Variety is the spice of life, after all." He leveled a look at Alfyn, which always was a bit awkward since the guy was a good head taller than him. "And stop looking so satisfied. Be proud once I actually use your name."

"Which just means you will, eventually. I'll just have to keep workin' on it." Alfyn smiled, a happy spring to his step. Therion really didn't get this guy. Never would, probably.

He sighed. "Then you have your work cut out for you." In truth, he wasn't planning to call him by his name at all, if he could help it. It'd just mean they were getting close, and the last thing he wanted to do was getting attached to this happy-go-lucky country boy.

"I can wait." Yeah, and that was exactly what worried Therion. If there was one word to describe Alfyn, it'd be stubborn. Incredibly so. And that came from him, who decided most of his actions out of sheer spite. "…Hey, you see that?" Alfyn asked, pointing towards a figure a short distance away.

The person in question was young, or younger than them, at least. Maybe sixteen or seventeen. They were alone and sat on the ground. The figure also had a hold on his leg, clutching it as one would do if it was wounded, and looked rather exhausted. _Even so, Clearbrook's right there… He should have been able to at least drag himself, if he's still conscious._ Which meant the traveler was probably inexperienced. Nobody just waited for help on the road when the next town was this close. "Sure I see that."

Alfyn looked at the kid still a few paces away from them. "Let's go ask If he needs help, then." He stated, and moved towards the Injured, leaving Therion to stand there on the road.

 _Wait, what?_ "But why?"

The apothecary gave him a disapproving look. "I thought that was obvious by now? The whole reason why I wanted to travel in the first place? I see someone in a bind, I help 'em out."

 _Oh right. That._ Therion shrugged. "Do what you want then." And that was the last thing he was going to contribute to this particular conversation, slipping into the background while Alfyn dealt with his new patient. Of course, he still hovered close to Alfyn and listened in on whatever the two of them were talking about. _Maybe I'll get some valuables out of him._

Turned out both of them were incorrigible chatterboxes. A match made in heaven, certainly. It didn't even take ten minutes, and he knew that the kid was named Kit (Unfortunate), and he was apparently on his own journey to find his missing father. "You know, I don't remember him all that well", Kit admitted while Alfyn put a bandage on his injured leg. "He left on his travels when I was very young. What I do remember is him smiling and playing with me, though it is quite hazy. It's one of my happiest memories."

While they talked, Therion discreetly went through Kit's belongings.

"I know what you mean!" Alfyn beamed. "My pops isn't around anymore either, and I was young back then too. Didn't get it at first, ya know. Kept wonderin' where he went when my Ma and 'im never fought, and why he wouldn't say goodbye."

Kit's eyes were felt with sympathy. _Oh, great._ "I'm sure he had a good reason."

"He did. He died."

This conversation took a turn into sad territory awfully quick. He wondered how old Kit must have been if he could still remember anything at all. Around four, maybe? That's the age Therion was in his earliest memories. Though said memories were rather lacking in parental figures. He wondered how they may have been if he could remember them.

Would he speak of them with such fondness too, if he could remember?

"Yeah, even though he was tough, even he couldn't survive an infected dog bite. The whole thing happened before Zeph's family moved in – they're apothecaries, you see – and well. Since then injuries gotten better, bit by bit. Although it's been so long, I barely remember him myself." Alfyn finished his story. "Well, that about wraps it up! Do try to rest yer leg if ya get the chance, though."

"I will." Kit said, smiling. Tears of gratitude were welling up in his eyes, as well. "Thank you so much! Both of you", he said, looking at Therion, who hid under his scarf because of the staring. "for stopping to help out. How much do I owe you?"

 _It's not like he could offer anything. I checked._ He had planned on stealing something, but the bag was disappointingly light on valuables. How Kit managed to get anywhere with so little was a mystery to Therion. It was however Alfyn who bothered answering, "Nothing! Completely free of charge."

The kid looked shell-shocked. _Guess how I felt when I heard about it. It's not like the idiot can afford giving everything for free… There's no shame in earning a little bit in exchange for services…_ Kit nodded. "I'm sure we'll cross paths again, eventually. Until then, my friends!" He waved goodbye as he left into the direction of Clearbrook, planning on passing through there to Saintsbridge, as he mentioned.

Therion blinked. "Why was I included in that? I tried to rob him!"

"Wait, you did?" Alfyn stumbled. "I didn't even notice! And don't steal from my patients!"

"Greengrass. What in Aeber's name do you think you're doing?"

Therion wasn't entirely sure himself, but it was definitely a sight to behold. The apothecary was surrounded by a bunch of twigs in all shapes and sizes, cluttered around everywhere. A small leaf had even landed in his wild curls. Some of the larger logs had formed a somewhat recognizable pile, but the rest were arranged in pure chaos.

Alfyn pouted, sitting in the center of the twigs. "Tryin' to make a pile out of the firewood. I didn't think they'd tumble all around the ground like that!"

"Well, that's because the grounds uneven. You'll just have to let me do it." He chuckled. Gods, this was ridiculous.

"But you said I should help out makin' the fire."

Therion shook his head, wagging his finger in a patronizing manner. "I said, 'Go get me some firewood'. There's no way I'm letting you start the fire."

Alfyn raised an eyebrow. "You know you can trust me to not set anythin' other than wood on fire, right?"

"Maybe, but I love starting the fire. I'm doing that." It may have something to do with his ability to use fire magic, but creating flames was really relaxing for him. It would be awesome if he could control his flames enough to start a fire with just his magic, but for now he'd just have to do it the normal way. _I wouldn't have to carry around Flintstone either, then…_ "Just, build a framework first, with the big ones. That way it'll hold the smaller ones."

Alfyn's pout morphed into a look of concentration now that he had another task to work on. Of course, being occupied didn't actually stop him from running his mouth. "And what exactly are you doin'?"

"Making dinner." It wouldn't be anything special today. They packed enough to last them until Sunshade, but their diet until then wouldn't be much to look at, only bread and water, and nothing else. He planned on having a feast in Sunshade, at least by comparison, before they'd go back to the meager meals on the road towards Cobblestone.

Alfyn hummed. "You know, I could probably go find us something to cook."

"Really?" Therion perked up. "What exactly?"

"Wild potatoes grow everywhere round here, for one. Bet I could find some more, make a vegetable stew… sound good?"

"Sure, be my guest." Therion nodded, because a warm meal sounded really good right about now. _Seems like I've gotten used to actually cooked food lately, huh?_

To be fair, Alfyn was a pretty good cook.

It took them about five days to reach the edge of the desert. Five and a half, if they were to count the day they left Clearbrook, which Therion plainly didn't. They had been able to see the town from their camp on that particular night; The distance they made there was negligible.

"Why'd we stop?" Alfyn asked curiously. He had, unsurprisingly, talked Therion's ear off the entire way through, but he had to admit that it wasn't that bad. Maybe even somewhat enjoyable. Just a bit. It had been a while since he had someone to listen to his thoughts or dry commentary, and never before had someone actually found them funny. It was a… nice change of pace. "It's barely evening. Reckon we can still go on a bit…"

"We could, but we won't." Therion declared. "I don't really want to go into the desert this late, so we wait until tomorrow. Still need to refill our water, too…"

Alfyn immediately volunteered to find a fresh water source, and they made quick work of setting up camp. It had not even been a week, but the apothecary had gotten used to it, making quick work of the necessary chores, and happily doing most of the work. Any more, and he wouldn't have anything other than lighting the fire to do himself. _He's a quick learner and motivated to boot, I'll give him that much._

"Therion?" Alfyn asked, in that tone that suggested he wanted his input on something he'd been pondering for a while. Therion acknowledged him with a hum. "I've been meanin' to ask, where exactly have you been before? I mean, I know you travel a lot, so I'm sure you've seen some places?"

"Sure. I've been pretty much everywhere worth mentioning in the Riverlands" There wasn't much of Interest there, if you asked him. RIverford and Saintsbridge ranked incredibly low in interest if anyone where to ask Therion. "More or less everywhere in Borderfall too." Meaning he hung around Borderfall a lot and visited Quarrycrest once or twice. "On top of that Sunshade, Wellspring, and Rippletide, too." All three of those were thieving hotspots. All of them were trading hubs in their own unique way, and there were lots of pockets waiting to be lightened. "That's about it."

"So? How are they like? They're bound to be really interesting, right? Come on, tell me." Therion shrugged. He really didn't have much to say; You've seen one town, you've seen them all. "A little bit about Sunshade, at least?"

Therion sighed. He could feel that Alfyn wouldn't relent. "Fine. Sunshade's pretty different from your little row of houses, that's for sure. And I don't only mean that it's bigger, though that's true too. Desert towns all have different houses, made out of stone and with flat roofs."

Alfyn hummed. "Why do you think they're build that way?"

"Don't know, don't care. Do I look like a scholar to you? All I know is that they're great to run on, and that's all that's important to me." Any roof was a good escape route, but the straight variety found in the desert made it so much easier.

"Fair enough." Alfyn said, though he did look a bit disappointed. "I'll just have to find a book on it sometime."

"Even so, it's a dangerous city. More so than other places. Once we're there, keep your head down, stay close to me, and don't say anything unnecessary." He warned. Considering how many swindlers hung around Sunshade, he was worried about Alfyn's habit of believing in everyone's good intentions. _It'll get him into trouble one day, but ideally I won't be around to witness it._

Alfyn's face fell at the prospect. "I'm sure it can't be that bad! It's just a friendly, sunny town in the middle of the desert. When we get travelers goin' through Clearbrook, they always talk about Sunshade's world-famous hospitality, you know?"

"…I don't think they mean 'hospitality' in the same way that you do." The only thing Sunshade truly was world-famous for where its casino and its dancers. He highly doubted medicine man had any idea about the dancers, nor about what they did after official work hours were over. _I don't think I'll be able to keep him away from the tavern… That's going to be an interesting evening, to say the least._

"You really shouldn't be digging around in the sand."

It was their second day in the desert, and they had long since passed the flush greens of the Riverlands. Not even a single speck of green could be seen on the horizon. The only thing surrounding them was sand, dunes and more sand. Currently, they were resting while they waited for the sun to dip down again, so the heat would let off at least a little bit.

No matter how impatient Therion was to get to Sunshade, and he was, getting a sunstroke would just make this journey painful and even longer than it already was. Especially since he was travelling with an apothecary who had already proven that he'd force him to stay in bed and rest if that happened. Besides, sunstrokes seriously sucked; One time was enough for a lifetime.

And to have a little bit of shade while resting, he propped up his mantle with his metal rods, which did sink pretty deep into the ground, but he could crawl in between the fabric and the sand, and it was cooler down there, so he cut his losses and didn't mind it.

Medicine man on the other hand didn't seem interested in waiting out the blazing sun and resting, instead he was out there and dug around in the sand. At least he had put on some cloth to protect him from the sun hitting him directly, and he did keep cool with some magically conjured ice (It made Therion a bit jealous when he had found out just a day prior. He'd love to have that much control over his own magic), but that was to be expected. He was an apothecary after all, he shouldn't be one to get himself sick through sheer carelessness. "You should rest instead. What are you even doing there?"

"Look at this." Alfyn showed off a pretty large piece of ripped fabric, most likely part of a sleeve. It may have been a vibrant blue, once, but it had been bleached by the desert sun until it was almost white, and it was frayed by the elements.

"So, you found some old scraps. What exactly are you hoping to find here?"

"Whatever this guy left." Alfyn reasoned. "I mean, if you somehow lose this, you might end up losing something more as well, right?"

Therion blinked, not really following the apothecary's logic. What? "So, let me get this straight. You're planning on looting a dead body? Is that what you're getting at? And here I had you pecked as a goody-two shoes." Maybe he had to re-evaluate Alfyn's character. He hadn't seemed the type to disrespect the dead.

Or not. Alfyn immediately shot up, stumbling to rebuff the claim. "O-of course not! Who says I'm gonna dig up a corpse?! I just think he could have left something valuable." He sighed. "How do you think I have money for anything? I listen and find things people left, which nobody needs anymore. I figured you'd be a fan of that – Finding treasure lying around, no effort needed."

"Frankly? No, not really." He shrugged. "I like to plan what to take beforehand. No fun in getting what you want through sheer dumb luck."

"It's not luck if yer look for it, and then find it that way." Alfyn frowned. "That's what we call treasure hunting. And I'm gonna find something valuable, you just see."

Therion turned away, rolling over in the sand. Getting that out of his clothes was going to be a pain… "Have it your way then. Call me once you find a dead body."

"I'm not gonna find a dead body!"

Even though Alfyn said that, it only took him about an hour and a half to actually do find a corpse hidden in the sand. _Not gonna lie, being right feels great._ "So", he started, grinning smugly from ear to ear.

Medicine man's mouth drew into a thin line. "Don't you dare finish that sentence."

"Fine, Fine, shutting up now." Therion held out his hand in surrender, then grinned. "Well? What are you planning to do? With that dead body? That you found, buried in the desert?"

"…You're goin' to hold that over my head forever, aren't ya?"

"I wouldn't be me if I didn't."

Alfyn shook his head. "Well, might as well give this guy a proper funeral", he said, looking down at the poor bastard. The corpse was shriveled up and dried out, the face was sunk in and deformed in death, the eyelids and mouth hanging down loosely. The clothes were frayed, but the man still had his satchel. He was covered in sand, the small particles sticking to the corpse wherever they could and building somewhat of a cocoon, making it hard to make out any details on the body. That was probably a good thing, in Therion's opinion. Dead bodies had always kind of freaked him out.

There was a reason he usually left the scene before he could see the life draining out of whoever he had cut down.

Alfyn didn't seem to share his reservations. He was studying the corpse intensely, touching it wherever he felt like. "Died from dehydration, I bet."

"How?" Therion asked, pulling Alfyn's attention to the water bottle he found with the stranger's belongings. (If they were going to deal with a corpse, he might as well look if the guy had anything with him. It's not like he would miss them.) "It's still half full."

"Happens a lot, apparently", Medicine man explained. "I read about it, once, in a book about dealin' with patients in the desert. People can't actually gauge how much water they need. Then, in the desert, they try to preserve their water, and before you know it, they're dead. You've been clever about it yourself; I had figured you knew?"

That much was true. He never tried to save his water, instead drinking periodically, even if he didn't feel particularly thirsty. His reasoning was a bit different though. "Someone taught me once. 'No use savin' yer water if yer jus' gonna end up havin' some left at the end, ain't that right?', he said. Never really asked why, I guess."

"…Interesting friend you have."

"Had."

Alfyn looked like he wanted to ask a few more questions, but seemed to decide against it. Better that way too, since Therion didn't actually want to bring him up, it just slipped. And he certainly didn't want to talk about him. _He's dead to me. It doesn't matter anymore._ Instead, the apothecary changed the topic abruptly, "Well, dying in the desert is fairly easy, in any case. Now, should we just burn him?"

Alfyn laid the corpse down on the sand.

"On it." Therion said, searching for the Flintstone in his pocket.

About two weeks later, while they rested again, Alfyn was rummaging around in his bag. "I need to know what I have with me, and make extra whenever I have the time to. Most medicine takes time to make; Time that I won't have when it's needed."

"...How are you going to make anything while on the road? Doesn't it need to sit, or something?" Therion asked. He'd love to know how exactly making medicine worked – He'd never be good at it, but once he was back alone on the road, he may have picked up some tricks from an actual apothecary. There was just that much you could learn by spying on strangers and trying things out yourself.

Alfyn pondered that question, laying out his jars in the sand. "Depends on what you use, I suppose? There's always multiple options for everything. There's some difference, of course, but a good apothecary has about five different ways to treat the same thing, especially when it's only injuries."

"Hmm. I guess that makes sense."

"Epidemics are a whole 'nother story, of course." Alfyn continued, now moving on to count dried leaves and berries. "Most of them have never been properly worked out, and every apothecary got a different way to treat 'em. Most of the time you're not gonna be able to do anything but treat whatever symptoms crop up. For example," he said, and held up some dried berries. "If ya mix these with some lemongrass and put that on a warm bandage, it'll make a fever go down. But it ain't gonna cure an epidemic on its own."

Therion shrugged. "Of course it doesn't. Best thing to do in case of an epidemic is to get out of town for a while, if you ask me."

"Hard to do when you're the one treatin' the sick, now, isn't it?" Alfyn said, pulling of one of the berries. "They're interesting, Satinberries. Great to treat fevers, but they make for a great poison if they're ingested. Makes the victim sleepy, and then they never wake up again. Only cure is to make 'em vomit like crazy, get it out before any harms done."

Therion twitched. "Sounds terrible."

"It is." Alfyn pulled out some parchment from his satchel, which seemed endless to Therion. How much stuff can someone put into one meager bag? "Oh, typical. Looks like Zeph forgot he still got something inside there… Let's see…"

Scribbles were covering every square inch of the two sheets of parchment, in between the lines and on the corners, too. It looked like an absolute mess – Therion didn't think he would be able to make the words out even if he could read them. "That's a letter to Mercedes, guess he never sent it… lovesick Idiot, I swear. And that one… Oh! That's awfully sweet of him. Congratulations for my birthday, you see?" Alfyn beamed, holding the letter out to him.

Therion swatted it away. "Can't read it, so stop throwing it in my face. When was your birthday, anyway?"

"I could teach ya how to read, ya know. If ya wanna. And yesterday. The sixteenth? Four days after Draefendi's feast?" He supposed it was that time of the year again, then. All the major gods had festivals throughout the year, of course, and it was always a good idea to keep the dates in mind. Festivals were common around Orsterra, and one should be aware of them whenever they happened. Happy people celebrating made good targets for a thief. "I didn't mention it since I didn't think it important. They'd probably would have thrown some giant feast in Clearbrook, they always do whenever someone's birthday rolls around."

"Fun."

"Certainly!" Alfyn's smirk turned mischievous. "You know, that means were the same age now."

Therion scoffed. "For what, half a year? It won't help you much."

Alfyn started to put away his things again, first the letters, then the jars and other equipment, and lastly the herbs and berries. "When's your birthday then."

Therion rolled his eyes. "You're going to find it ironic. It's on Soul's Reckoning, on the day." That's at least what he figured. He never had someone to tell him, exactly, and he certainly didn't remember on what day he was born, but even as a kid he had subconsciously remembered the feast taking place close to his birthday, so that's what he went with.

Alfyn corked a brow. "Really? The feast that's celebrated for the Prince of Thieves? Premonition much?"

"Knew you'd find it funny."

The entire track through the desert took them three weeks and four days in total. Granted, getting through environmentally challenging terrain always took forever, but Therion really didn't think it would take them quite as long to finally arrive at Sunshade. Usually, he'd make the journey in two weeks and three days!

Add to that the five days from Clearbrook to the Edge of the desert, and the trip had taken them an entire month. Just great. Maybe he should have just sucked it up and taken the northern route.

At least, Sunshade finally became visible in the distance. He had never felt so grateful for a bunch of illuminated stone blocks far off in the distance. Now that really put things into perspective.

His companion (Still a weird thought, him having a companion. He wasn't used to that, anymore) seemed completely enthralled, and the feeling grew and grew the closer they got to the city. Once inside, Therion was seriously debating Alfyn if someone could die from smiling to bright. Maybe it'd overheat them?

The apothecary was basically skipping through the market place, excitingly pointing to all kinds of goods he recognized and regaling him with tales of what they were and what he could do with them. The ones he didn't recognize, which was the grant majority, where even worse somehow – they were subject to Alfyn's endless curiosity, and Therion found himself answering questions he never bothered to even formulate to himself. For some of them, him knowing the answer was as surprising for him as it was to Alfyn.

"Can you believe the stuff they have here? Fireblooms, they're super rare! And azure desert algae! It only grows in one spring in the entire world, and…" That was about where Therion droned him out, though he did still listen enough to make mental notes on the different mentioned plant names.

While Alfyn was star-struck about the place, which made him look forward to showing him Rippletide, Therion focused on more practical tasks. Mainly nudging the apothecary towards the Inn.

The great thing about the Inn in Sunshade was that it was comparatively inexpensive. Because the city depended on its visitors and the coin they brought into the city, the people living here had made the conscious decision of lowering the Inn prices considerably, in the hopes that the travelers would spend money on the myriad of other things Sunshade had to offer.

Which was just as well, because Therion was currently tight-pressed for money. He took enough for two nights in an Inn for himself, planning on making a stop in Sunshade as well as in Rippletide, and stealing whatever else he needed. Even with the coin he had gotten from the dead traveler in the desert, it wouldn't last them long out of Sunshade. They'd have some left after tonight, surely, but not enough for another night in an Inn for two.

And that's not even mentioning supplies. He'd have to make another visit to the bazaar and just take what they needed.

"Greengrass." Medicine man stopped and looked at him, his rant completely stopping as soon as Therion spoke up. "Mind going to the Inn alone? Get us one room." He took out his coin purse, and gave it to Alfyn. "I know you don't have enough to pay it on your own, so don't look at me like that. I'll know if there is even a single leaf missing, trust me."

Alfyn seemed like he wanted to say something, but Therion didn't bother to wait and find out what it was. _It's just one room, he'll manage._

He had other things to worry about. Mainly provisions. Priority was getting some more bred, and whatever other edibles he could find that would last them longer than a few days. Maybe even get some treats to eat for dinner. He figured Alfyn would be the type to enjoy trying new food, and he could really go for some of Sunshade's world famous sweets.

He ended up with two entire loafs of bread, a bunch of apples that looked like they had seen better days (Not surprising considering apples were far from local here, but he still wasn't able to resist when he had seen them) as well as a known delicacy from here that he knew but never actually bothered learning the name of – the important part was that it was spicy dried meat that they could eat even two months from now.

He also got a bunch of really nice looking miniature cakes, mostly chocolate in combo with local fruit. As a bit of a treat.

And all of that without getting caught once. _See that, Heathcote? I still got it, even with that stupid bangle getting in the way!_ It was a bit of a miracle nobody noticed that yet. Maybe he was getting better at keeping it out of sight. He certainly had gotten used to the extra weight that used to throw him so off-balance – a new habit that'll probably end up annoying him to no end once he could take the darn thing of again.

On the way back to the Inn, something caught his eye. It was the same merchant that Alfyn had gone on and on about earlier, the one that sold rare herbs to people. Personally, now that he got a closer look, Therion thought the prices were a bit high. Even for how rare some of the things apparently were. It seemed impossible to him that anyone would ever consider buying algae for 30 000 leaves, no matter the actual market value.

…And if he decided to snatch some of them off of the merchant, too, well. Then it was only because someone that money-obsessed sickened even him, and nothing else.

"Those are soooo good." Alfyn was talking about the cakes, of course. The two had made themselves at home in Sunshade's Inn. Therion had to hand it to Alfyn, he nailed getting the room.

Meaning he got one room with two beds, and the worst view in the entire building. He never quite got the part where Inns charged extra for a nice scenery. Or why anyone would pay for that. Waste of leaves, in his opinion. If he wanted to see the city, he wouldn't do it from his rooms window, now would he?

In any case, they were currently enjoying the stolen cakes Therion brought back. When he came in, unceremoniously dumping the goods on the room's floor before packing them away, Alfyn had leveled a disapproving stare at him. He was very acutely aware he hadn't stolen the stuff, not that it was particularly hard to guess, but seemed to have let it slide.

 _Good choice,_ Therion thought. _Can't really complain when he's well aware that I'm a thief and still decided to tag along._

There was nothing quite as annoying as hypocrisy in the world, after all. Well, maybe people putting apples into vinegar. That was a crime on humanity itself.

Therion tried a cake himself, chocolate and mango. And yes, it was really, really good.

Alfyn looked over the stolen goods, most of which were now stuffed inside the apothecary's satchel. The thing was already heavier than anything Therion would ever carry, so surely medicine man could handle a few additional pounds. "It's a lot. Stealin' here, stealin' there, stealin' pretty much everywhere… Heck, you thieves sure do work hard."

"…If that's what you want to call it."

"Hm, I suppose." Alfyn mused while he finished off his cake. "Hey, what you say, we go hit the tavern tonight?"

He didn't really get invited to this sort of thing a lot. Even then, he didn't go out for fun much, and if he did, it certainly wouldn't be visiting an alehouse. Nothing quite as depressing as solitary drinking.

Alfyn, on the other hand, seemed to do these types of things a lot. He also had a certain talent to get him to agree to things he'd never dream about doing otherwise, too. _It's a bit of a bother, really…_ "Sure. One mug… your treat." He grinned. "I hope you have the leaves for it."


End file.
